5 


THE   METHOD   OF  THE 
RECITATION 


THE    METHOD 


OF 


THE    RECITATION 


BY 


CHARLES   A.   McMURRY,  PH.D. 

DIRECTOR  OF  PRACTICE  DEPARTMENT,  NORTHERN  ILLINOIS 
NORMAL  SCHOOL,  DE  KALB,  ILLINOIS 

AND 

FRANK  M.   McMURRY,  PH.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING,  TEACHERS 
COLLEGE,   COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


Wefor  |00rfe 
THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
IQIO 

Att  right*  rtstrved 


COPYRIGHT,  1897, 
BY.  C.  A.  McMURRY  AND  F.  M.  McMURRY. 

COPYRIGHT,  1903, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up,  elcctrotyped,  and  published  January,  1903.  Reprinted 
June,  twice,  September,  1903 ;  January, February,  1904 ;  March, 
June,  1905;  March,  July,  1906  ;  April,  October,  December,  1908; 
July,  1909  ;  July,  December,  1910. 


"V  ™  CALIFORNIA 
SANTA  BARBARA 


Dctu'catrti  to 
JOHN   W.   COOK 

PRESIDENT  OP  THE  NORTHERN  ILLINOIS  NORMAL  SCHOOL 
DE  KALB,  ILLINOIS 


$ 


PREFACE 

THE  Method  of  the  Recitation  has  sprung  out  of 
school-room  work,  and  is  designed  to  be  a  practical 
application  of  the  principles  of  method  to  the  various 
problems  of  class-room  instruction.  It  is  an  effort  to 
bring  together  and  to  organize  the  various  principles 
that  control  skilful  teaching. 

It  is  based  fundamentally  upon  the  inductive- 
deductive  thought  movement  in  acquiring  and  using 
knowledge. 

This  organized  plan  of  laying  out  recitation  work 
was  first  projected  by  the  thinkers  of  the  Herbart 
school  in  Germany.  For  more  than  thirty  years 
they  have  been  developing  and  applying  it  under  the 
title  "  The  Formal  Steps  of  Instruction  "  (Die  forma- 
ten  Stufen  des  Unterrichts).  Formerly  Dr.  T.  Ziller 
at  Leipzig  was  a  leader  in  the  movement,  and  more 
recently  Dr.  W.  Rein  at  Jena.  They  worked  out 
their  theory  and  applied  it  with  proficiency  to  a  large 
variety  of  topics  in  different  studies,  thus  showing 
the  flexibility  of  leading  principles  under  various 
forms  of  application. 


Vlll  PREFACE 

The  Method  of  the  Recitation  is  based  upon  the 
principles  of  teaching  which  were  expounded  and 
illustrated  in  the  work  of  Herbart,  Ziller,  and  Rein. 
At  the  same  time,  the  authors  hope  to  have  shown 
in  the  body  of  the  work  that  we  have  to  do  here  with 
principles  recognized  by  teachers  in  every  land,  and 
that  there  is  no  thoughtless  imitation  of  foreign 
methods  and  devices.  While  our  debt  to  German 
thinkers  for  an  organization  of  fundamental  ideas  is 
great,  the  entire  discussion,  as  here  presented,  springs 
out  of  American  conditions ;  its  illustrative  materials 
are  drawn  exclusively  from  lessons  commonly  taught 
in  our  schools.  In  fact,  the  whole  book,  while 
strongly  influenced  by  Herbart's  principles,  is  the 
outgrowth  of  several  years'  continuous  work  with 
classes  of  children  in  all  the  grades  of  the  common 
school. 

The  Method  of  the  Recitation  may  be  regarded  as 
Part  II  of  the  broad  subject  of  Method  of  which  the 
"  General  Method,"  published  earlier,  is  Part  I.  The 
latter  book  is  a  discussion  of  the  leading  principles 
of  education  as  they  bear  on  the  school  curriculum, 
and  is  designed  to  be  preliminary  to  the  definite 
treatment  of  recitation  work. 

The  final  test  of  the  value  of  any  such  effort  to 
organize  the  recitation  must  be  found  in  the  worth 
of  the  actual  lessons  worked  out  in  accordance  with 


PREFACE  x 

its  principles.  Two  chapters,  II  and  XI,  are  given 
up  to  such  typical  lessons.  Each  topic  or  lesson 
unity  treated  requires  several  or  even  many  recita- 
tion periods  for  its  completion. 

The  authors  have  divided  the  work  nearly  equally 
between  them,  Chapters  I,  II,  except  the  illustration 
"In  unity  is  strength,"  Chapters  IX,  X,  XI,  and 
XIII,  except  the  parable  of  the  tares,  being  written 
by  C.  A.  McMurry.  Chapters  III,  IV,  V,  VI,  VII, 
and  VIII,  Chapters  XII  and  XIV  by  F.  M.  McMurry. 

The  present  edition  has  been  completely  revised 
and  supplied  with  marginal  topics  for  better  use  as 
a  text-book.  Considerable  additions  have  been  made 
to  the  original  edition  and  some  changes  made  in  the 
division  and  arrangement  of  chapters. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACK 

I.    VARIETY  VERSUS  UNIFORMITY  IN  METHODS  OF 

INSTRUCTION i 

II.    ILLUSTRATIVE  LESSONS  SHOWING  THE  PROCESSES 

OF  REACHING   GENERAL   TRUTHS         .  .  .13 

III.  How  INDIVIDUAL  AND  GENERAL   NOTIONS  ARE 

DISTINGUISHED   FROM    EACH   OTHER  ...         42 

IV.  WHY  GENERAL  NOTIONS  OR  CONCEPTS  ARE  THE 

GOAL  OF  INSTRUCTION      .        .       .       .       .  51 
V.    Do  GENERALIZATIONS  PRECEDE  OR  FOLLOW  INDI- 
VIDUAL NOTIONS?     .        .        .        .    •'  t  ••••    .  64 
VI.    How    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    SHOULD    BE    AP- 
PROACHED    74 

VII.    How  INDIVIDUAL  NOTIONS  SHOULD  BE  PRESENTED  118 
VIII.    HOW  PROCEED  FROM   INDIVIDUAL  TO  GENERAL 

NOTIONS 185 

IX.    How  SHOULD  GENERAL  NOTIONS  BE  APPLIED?   .  207 

X.    THE  VALUE  OF  TYPES 236 

XI.    ILLUSTRATIVE  LESSONS 257 

XII.      LAWS  UNDERLYING   PROCESSES  IN  TEACHING          .      288 

XIII.  APPLICATIONS  AND  CRITICISMS     ....    297 

XIV.  LESSON  PLANS 329 


METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

CHAPTER   I 

VARIETY     VERSUS     UNIFORMITY     IN     METHODS     OF 
INSTRUCTION 

THERE  has  been  a  long-standing  dispute  among 
teachers  whether  or  not  the  processes  of  instruction 
must  conform  to  any  fixed  and  uniform  regulatives. 
Among  scholars,  and  even  among  teachers,  many 
have  been  sceptical  of  anything  like  a  definite  science 
of  education. 

At  the  first  glance,  the  broad  field  of  education  Reasons  for 
presents  a  medley,  —  many  and  varied  studies,  chil- 


dren   of    all   ages    and   capacities,    and   teachers   of  science  of 

T-I  education. 

nearly  every  quality  and  description.  There  are 
many  sorts  of  schools,  and  great  diversity  of  purpose 
and  method  even  in  schools  of  the  same  kind.  In 
high  schools,  for  example,  there  are  general  and 
business  courses,  classical  and  scientific  courses,  but 
teachers  are  at  variance  as  to  the  best  methods  of  in- 
struction even  in  the  classical  course,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  different  standpoints  of  teachers  of  classics 
and  of  natural  science.  What  is  still  more  discourag- 
ing, the  very  sciences  upon  which  pedagogy  claims 


METHOD    OF   RECITATION 


Universal 
principles  of 
method  the 
basis  of  a 
science  of 
education. 


to  be  based,  psychology  and  ethics,  lie  as  much  in 
the  field  of  controversy  as  pedagogy  itself.  In  the 
midst  of  this  endless  variety  and  fluctuation  in  the 
theory  and  practice  of  teaching,  it  is  not  strange  that 
many  educated  people,  even  teachers,  take  a  scepti- 
cal attitude  toward  scientific  method,  and  regard  each 
person  as  a  law  unto  himself. 

This  tendency  to  discredit  a  science  of  education  is 
indicated  by  our  use  of  the  term  method.  There  is 
scarcely  a  more  common  word  in  the  teaching  pro- 
fession, and  it  is  frequently  employed  in  the  plural 
form,  a  practical  admission  not  of  one  and  only  one 
right  method,  but  that  their  number  is  legion.  Also 
some  of  the  most  common  watchwords  of  our  pro- 
fession point  in  the  same  direction,  "  Freedom  and 
originality,"  "  The  teacher  is  born,  not  made,"  "  Make 
your  own  method." 

Our  pedagogy  seems  to  have  fallen  into  a  condi- 
tion similar  to  that  in  which  philosophy  found  itself 
in  the  time  of  the  Sophists.  Each  man's  judgment 
was  counted  as  good  as  another's.  Each  man  was 
the  measure  of  all  things,  and  though  two  men  dif- 
fered radically,  both  might  be  right  in  their  judg- 
ments. The  Sophists  were  sceptical  of  any  universal 
standard  of  truth. 

But  Socrates,  who  followed  the  Sophists,  sought  in 
the  individual's  thinking,  when  properly  guided,  a 
universal  principle  of  truth,  so  that  all  men  when 
they  think  logically  and  soundly  must  agree.  He 


VARIETY    VERSUS    UNIFORMITY  3 

was  in  search  of  a  uniform  mode  of  thinking  which 
would  have  universal  validity.  Pedagogy  likewise  is 
in  search  of  universal  principles  of  method  in  learn- 
ing, based  not  upon  the  subjective  whim  of  the 
teacher,  but  upon  the  common  law  of  mental  action 
which  is  universal  with  children  and  students,  in  fact 
with  all  human  beings.  And  the  extent  to  which 
such  universal  principles  of  method  are  discovered, 
determines  the  extent  to  which  there  is  a  science  of 
education. 

The  question  is  this  :  Is  there  any  essential,  natural 
process  upon  which  a  uniform  method  of  treating  the 
varied  school  subjects  can  be  based?  As  already 
said,  to  outward  appearance  there  seems  to  be  no 
such  process;  there  seem  to  be  no  principles  that 
may  serve  as  a  guide  for  all  persons  in  teaching  all 
subjects.  But  we  should  not  be  discouraged  by  ap- 
pearances. The  fact  that  even  good  teachers  show 
an  infinite  variety  of  individual  and  personal  traits, 
and  that  studies  differ  greatly  in  subject-matter,  is  no 
proof  that  there  is  not  a  common  mode  of  procedure 
for  instruction.  We  remember  that  everywhere  in 
nature  and  in  society  is  variety  and  apparent  con- 
fusion; fundamental  laws  do  not  stand  out  so  as  to 
be  easily  detected  by  careless  observers.  They  lie 
deep  and  must  be  searched  out  by  patient  examina- 
tion and  labor.  In  the  study  of  trees  and  flowers  no 
scientist  is  deceived  by  the  multiplicity  and  variety 
of  forms.  It  is  the  habit  of  his  mind  to  reduce  all 


METHOD    OJf    RECITATION 


Economy  of 

such 

principles. 


varieties    to   common   structural   forms   and   simple 
classes. 

Hence,  while  there  is  a  large  element  in  teaching 
that  is  always  variable,  according  to  the  branch  of 
study  and  the  differing  personality  of  teacher  or 
pupils,  may  there  not  be  essential  uniformity ;  some 
great  underlying  principles  of  method  ? 

Could  these  principles  be  discovered,  no  one  would 
deny  their  value ;  we  are  not  so  enamoured  of  indi 
vidual  freedom  as  to  refuse  submission  to  rational, 
regulated  processes. 

Definite  and  valuable  principles  of  action,  while 
they  check  one's  freedom  along  foolish  lines,  guide 
effort  into  the  channels  of  efficiency.  Too  much  free- 
dom becomes  positively  oppressive.  Whether  travel- 
ling over  a  continent  or  through  a  field  of  thought, 
erecting  a  mansion,  or  developing  a  high  moral  char- 
acter, whoever  would  keep  his  bearings  and  work 
forward  to  an  important  end,  must  have  a  guide. 
Whether  it  be  a  compass,  a  model,  or  an  ideal,  he 
must  look  to  it  continually  for  direction.  Any  one 
engaged  in  a  work  so  important  and  difficult  as  teach- 
ing is  much  in  need  of  fixed  principles  which  outline 
for  him  the  ideal  of  method.  If  convinced  that  no 
one  method  is  right,  that  no  ideal  can  be  set  up,  he 
is  like  a  sea  captain  who  is  persuaded  that  whatever 
course  he  may  choose  for  his  vessel  is  at  least  possi- 
bly good.  He  acknowledges  the  possession  of  no 
standard  of  excellence,  and  sees  chiefly  fog  in  his 


VARIETY    VERSUS    UNIFORMITY  5 

chosen  course.  He  is  subject,  therefore,  to  half- 
hearted action,  for  energy  and  encouragement  are 
not  born  of  uncertainty  and  confusion. 

No  one,  therefore,  will  object  to  a  search  for  the 
unity  that  may  underlie  the  variety  of  good  methods 
in  teaching. 

Our  text-books  supply  us  with  a  definite  formula-  The  uniform. 
tion  of  methods  of  teaching.  They  are  generally 
constructed  out  of  the  experience  of  the  better  teach- 
ers and  in  conformity  with  those  traditional  ideas  and 
practices  which  are  common  to  the  great  body  of  in- 
structors. The  examination  and  comparison  of  our 
most  widely  used  text-books  in  grammar,  arithmetic, 
history,  geography,  reading,  etc.,  will  show  a  uniform- 
ity in  at  least  one  very  important  respect. 

It  may  be  said  that  our  text-books  in  English  gram- 
mar are  built  on  a  single  plan.  As  surely  as  an  ordi- 
nary dwelling  has  parlor,  sitting  room,  and  kitchen, 
so  grammar  has  orthography,  etymology,  and  syntax. 
This  is  one  kind  of  uniformity ;  namely,  that  of  lead- 
ing topics  in  the  subject-matter.  But,  what  is  more 
to  our  purpose,  the  general  truths  contained  in  these 
materials  are  singled  out  as  the  central  aim  of  study. 
In  grammar  everything  culminates  in  the  definitions 
and  rules,  whose  complete  mastery  gives  us  the  scien- 
tific grasp  of  the  structure  and  meaning  of  language. 
In  most  books  even  the  method  of  reaching  the  rules 
and  definitions  is  stereotyped.  Definitions,  examples, 
and  applications  constitute  the  regular  order  in  the 


O  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

treatment  of  every  topic.  Green's  grammar  is  an 
illustration.  Some  of  the  more  recent  books  have 
modified  the  order  of  topics  and  have  adopted  an  in- 
ductive method  of  treatment ;  but  under  all  changes 
the  definitions  and  principles  expressing  the  functions 
of  the  parts  of  speech  and  the  syntactical  relations 
of  the  elements  of  the  sentence  have  remained  the 
central  aim  of  instruction. 

An  examination  of  a  score  of  the  best  arithmetics 
in  use  will  show  a  striking  uniformity  in  the  series  of 
important  topics  treated.  The  following  series  is 
very  familiar :  the  four  fundamental  operations,  fac- 
toring, common  fractions,  decimals,  compound  num- 
bers, percentage,  ratio,  proportion,  involution,  and 
evolution.  But  this  external  uniformity  of  subject- 
matter  is  only  a  sign  of  that  deeper-lying  uniformity 
which  aims  at  the  development  and  use  of  funda- 
mental principles.  The  elementary  general  truths  of 
arithmetic  lie  at  the  basis  of  all  the  important  topics 
handled.  The  solution,  analysis,  and  explanation  of 
problems  are  simply  means  for  bringing  the  impor- 
tant principles  clearly  to  light.  When  the  principles 
can  be  explicitly  stated  and  intelligently  applied,  the 
essential  aim  of  arithmetic  has  been  reached.  In 
most  books  even  the  method  of  procedure  in  mas- 
tering the  rule  is  the  same,  first  one  or  two  simple 
problems  worked  out  and  explained,  then  the  rule, 
followed  by  a  series  of  applications  growing  more 
complex  and  difficult. 


VARIETY   VERSUS    UNIFORMITY  7 

In  algebra  and  geometry  the  essential  principles 
which  constitute  the  framework  of  these  studies  are 
still  more  strikingly  prominent  as  the  aim  of  study. 
While  the  methods  of  approach  to  principles  vary 
somewhat,  the  definitions,  theorems,  and  proposi- 
tions, when  finally  reached,  are  formulated  in  nearly 
the  same  language. 

In  mathematics,  therefore,  as  in  grammar,  instruc- 
tion centres  in  the  principles  to  be  understood  and 
applied.  All  variations  in  method,  whether  induc- 
tive or  deductive,  are  different  modes  of  presenting 
these  generalizations. 

A  comparative  study  of  the  leading  common- 
school  geographies  will  show  a  similar  agreement 
in  aim.  No  study  is  richer  in  the  abundance  and 
variety  of  concrete  material  than  geography,  but 
the  books  follow  a  strong  traditional  tendency  and 
are  really  modelled  on  a  single  plan.  Not  only  the 
outline  of  leading  topics  is  the  same,  such  as  mathe- 
matical geography,  physical  features  of  the  continents, 
the  political  divisions  and  populations,  the  chief  occu- 
pations, as  agriculture,  commerce,  mining,  and  manu- 
facturing, but  in  these  topics  the  chief  purpose  is  to 
give  a  distinct  emphasis  to  the  general  truths  which 
underlie  all  the  variety  of  geographical  detail. 

Some  of  these  truths,  for  example,  are  the  follow- 
ing :  soil  comes  from  rock ;  slopes  are  necessary  for 
drainage,  and  drainage  for  farming;  mountains 
greatly  influence  temperature  and  rainfall;  the 


8  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

roads  of  a  country  are  an  index  of  its  civiliza- 
tion ;  great  cities  owe  their  growth  largely  to  the 
advantages  of  their  location  for  transportation ;  coal 
and  iron  ore  are  the  two  most  important  mineral  prod- 
ucts ;  climate  and  occupation  greatly  aff ect  the  char- 
acter of  a  people.  The  location  of  points,  the  fixing 
of  boundaries,  etc.,  are  of  use,  to  be  sure,  but  interest 
in  geography  centres  primarily  in  such  truths  as  these. 

In  history  every  important  event  is  typical  or  repre- 
sentative in  character,  setting  forth  a  truth  common 
to  many  other  events,  or  reappearing  in  the  lives  of 
many  persons.  In  Hamilton's  life  and  thinking  as  a 
statesman  the  notion  of  a  strong  central  power  of 
government  was  potent.  This  idea  appears,  also,  in 
other  statesmen,  as  in  Webster,  Washington,  and 
Lincoln,  and  has  gradually  become  an  idea  common 
to  all  patriotic  Americans.  The  building  of  the  old 
national  road  was  a  particular  event,  but  it  illustrated 
the  principle  of  the  right  of  the  federal  government 
under  the  constitution  to  make  internal  improve- 
ments. So  every  event  in  history,  that  is  worth 
learning,  helps  point  the  way  to  a  more  general 
truth.  History,  therefore,  has  a  large  number  of 
general  truths  in  store,  and  it  is  the  deeper,  broader 
meaning  of  these  general  ideas  which  we  seek,  through 
particular  events,  to  disclose. 

This  statement  may  be  accepted  without  commit- 
ting one's  self  in  favor  of  a  philosophy  of  history,  such 
as  that  presented  in  Hegel's  noted  work  bearing  that 


VARIETY    VERSUS    UNIFORMITY  9 

title.  One  may  properly  believe  that  sufficient  data 
for  the  broadest,  deepest  truths  concerning  human 
progress  are  wanting,  so  that  history  cannot  reveal 
such  truths,  even  to  advanced  students ;  but  one  may 
still  feel  convinced  that  it  is  the  purpose  of  history 
to  present  general  truths  of  a  lower  order,  as  those 
just  suggested. 

Beginning  reading  is  a  study  in  which  the  mastery 
and  use  of  arbitrary  symbols  play  a  very  important 
part;  yet  there  is  a  small  nucleus  of  generaliza- 
tion upon  which  the  study  is  organized.  In  good 
reading  final  consonants  are  enunciated  with  distinct- 
ness ;  soft  tones  are  heard ;  and  the  voice  is  modu- 
lated in  accordance  with  the  thoughts  expressed.  It 
is  such  abstract  statements  as  these  that  the  learner 
must  comprehend  and  apply  before  he  can  read  well. 

Finally,  even  spelling  contains  its  rules.  But 
these,  you  say,  are  partly  useless  because  of  their 
numerous  exceptions.  True ;  and  that  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  spelling  fails  to  receive  the  respect  ac- 
corded to  other  studies.  Its  want  of  reliable  rules 
deprives  it  of  scientific  content,  and  it  is  regarded  by 
many  persons  as  an  evil,  though  a  very  necessary- 
one.  It  is  not  a  full  study. 

In  these  various  studies,  therefore,  we  find  the  ten- 
dency predominant  to  concentrate  effort  upon  the 
mastery  of  essential  general  truths.  What  is  the 
reason  for  such  uniformity  ?  Is  it  simply  blind  cus- 
tom, or  have  we  been  working  out,  consciously  or 


IO  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

unconsciously,  a  fundamental  principle  in  education  ? 
Is  it  not  the  latter  ?  Whether  conscious  of  it  or  not, 
text-book  makers  have  been  laboring  for  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  scientific  statement  and  arrangement 
of  general  truths  that  each  of  the  studies  would  per- 
mit. And  while  there  has  been  much  glib  talk  about 
freedom  and  originality  in  teaching,  the  text-books 
have  held  the  great  majority  of  teachers  in  a  well- 
defined  routine  ;  have  led  them  to  do  practically  the 
same  things,  and  in  essentially  the  same  way. 

The  striking  similarity  that  marks  each  large  class 
of  text-books  is  one  of  the  most  noticeable  character- 
istics of  our  education,  and  is  in  clear  contrast  to  that 
variety  of  methods  discussed  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter.  Education  gravitates  into  these  channels  of 
generalized  knowledge  as  surely  as  rivers  work  their 
way  through  the  lowlands.  Even  in  a  democratic 
country  where  each  community  is  free  to  adopt  its 
own  system  and  method  of  education,  where  no  hie- 
rarchy of  learned  men  in  any  way  officially  directs  the 
educational  policy,  we  see  an  almost  universal  ten- 
dency toward  uniformity,  based  upon  the  broad  sci- 
entific principles  of  any  study. 

General  If  now  we  find  that  the  ground  for  this  uniformity 

Carting-point  *s  rea%  a  scientific  idea,  not  only  widely  recognized, 


for  a  scientific  fo^  valid  in  psychology,  we  may  fix  a  starting-point 

instruction,     for  a  sound  pedagogy.     The  mastery  of  the  general 

truths  of  a  study  must  remain  the  direct  purpose  of 

instruction  in  each  branch  of  knowledge.     These 


VARIETY   VERSUS    UNIFORMITY  II 

truths  are  what  are  known  in  psychology  as  general 
notions  or  concepts.  They  are  the  centres  around 
which  the  knowledge  of  any  subject  is  grouped  and 
classified.  It  is  the  mastery  of  these  rules  and  prin- 
ciples, and  the  ability  to  apply  them,  that  are  con- 
stantly aimed  at  in  all  the  best  school  work.  From 
an  examination  of  the  psychologies  we  detect  that 
the  treatment  of  the  precept  and  the  concept  (the 
particular  and  the  general  notion)  furnishes  two  lead- 
ing chapters  of  mental  science.  The  process  of  learn- 
ing as  explained  by  all  the  psychologies  culminates 
in  the  general  notion  or  concept.  Psychology  sup- 
plies, therefore,  a  strong  support  to  our  conclusion 
as  to  the  basis  of  scientific  method. 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  all  the  higher 
studies,  as  history,  science,  language,  medicine,  law, 
etc.,  become  organized  under  general  notions  or  prin- 
ciples ;  in  fact,  the  definition  of  science  is  "  general- 
ized, classified  knowledge." 

In  the  history  of  philosophy  also  the  general  no- 
tion plays  a  r61e  not  less  important  than  in  these 
other  subjects.  From  the  days  of  Socrates  and  Plato 
on,  inductive  and  deductive  reasoning  have  set  the 
general  notion  as  the  centre  of  all  thinking  —  as  the 
thing  aimed  at  in  induction,  and  as  the  basis  of  all 
true  deduction.  When  Herbert  Spencer,  therefore, 
calls  his  most  fundamental  book  "  First  Principles," 
he  has  in  mind  those  general  truths  which  lie  at  the 
basis  of  his  entire  system  of  thought. 


12  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

In  conclusion,  we  find  that  the  general  notion  is  a 
pivotal  centre  of  discussion  not  only  in  elementary 
and  higher  studies  of  all  sorts,  but  also  in  the  great 
fields  of  psychology  and  philosophy. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  the  method  by  which  general 
notions  have  been  worked  out  in  our  text-books  is 
uniformly  correct  and  valid.  This  is  a  question  that 
we  are  not  called  upon  to  settle  at  this  point.  Whether 
or  not  an  inductive  or  deductive  approach  to  general 
truths  is  the  correct  one,  we  can  leave  for  further 
consideration.  But  one  leading  aim  of  instruction  in 
every  important  study  is  a  mastery,  in  the  full  sense, 
of  its  general  truths.  Without  this  basis  no  method 
of  instruction  has  any  validity.  It  may  be  that  the 
method  by  which  this  aim  can  be  best  realized  has 
been  so  thoroughly  misinterpreted  and  misapplied 
that  we  have  approached  a  uniformity  of  error  in  our 
methods  of  teaching.  It  may  be  that  definitions  and 
abstract  formulae  have  been  set  too  much  in  the  fore- 
front of  every  lesson,  and  also  that  systematically 
formulated  knowledge  has  been  forced  prematurely 
into  lower  grades.  Yet  it  is  a  great  step  in  the  right 
direction  to  have  fixed  clearly  the  aim  of  instruction, 
to  have  determined  the  goal  toward  which  all  proper 
mental  movement  tends.  Assuming  that  our  con- 
clusions thus  far  are  justified,  we  may  move  on  to  a 
discussion  of  the  essential  steps  in  a  correct  method 
of  instruction. 


CHAPTER  II 

ILLUSTRATIVE  LESSONS  SHOWING  THE  PROCESSES  OP 
REACHING  GENERAL  TRUTHS 

IN  the  first  chapter,  having  located  the  goal  of  in- 
struction in  general  notions  and  in  their  proper  use, 
the  question,  how  to  reach  them,  now  becomes  para- 
mount. In  the  present  chapter  a  number  of  lessons 
is  worked  out  to  illustrate  the  different  processes  in 
vogue  for  mastering  general  truths.  In  each  exam- 
ple two  different  methods  are  presented :  first,  that 
common  to  many  of  our  text-books  and  to  the  usual 
practice  of  teachers ;  and  second,  the  fuller  inductive 
and  developing  method  now  followed  in  some  schools. 

The  purpose  of  this  chapter  is  not  only  to  show 
the  two  ways  of  reaching  a  comprehension  of  such 
truths,  but  also  to  suggest  other  important  phases  of 
recitation  work.  In  the  discussions  of  recitation 
method  which  follow,  these  lessons  may  be  kept  in 
mind  as  illustrating  the  principles  under  treatment. 

The  lessons  are  taken  from  different  studies,  — 
arithmetic,  geography,  literature,  natural  science,  and 
history.  They  recognize  generalizations  as  the  goal 
of  instruction,  but  leave  open  the  question  as  to 

'3 


14  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

whether  or  not  any  further  principles  of  method 
may  be  found  in  the  treatment  of  these  various 
materials. 

The  Addition  of  Fractions 

In  first  learning  to  add  fractions,  one  method  of  the 
arithmetics  is  fairly  illustrated  by  the  following  :  — 
What  is  the  sum  of  fy,  |f,  and  £|j  ? 

Process  :  &  +  |f  +  M  =  •a±M±JJl  =  If  =  'H- 
What  is  the  sum  of  ^|,  ^f  ,  ^|,  and  -£$  ? 
What  is  the  sum  of  f  ,  £_,  and  \\  ? 

Since   unlike    fractional 

units  cannot  be  added,  re- 
Process:  ,  '  , 

li  _?  duce  the  fractionsf,  -^,  and 

1!*!'  9i=  ,  to  a  common  denomi- 


nator and  then  add  the 
resulting  fractions. 

After  ten  or  a  dozen  problems  the  following  rule 
is  given  :  — 

"  To  add  fractions,  reduce  the  fractions  to  a  com- 
mon denominator,  add  the  numerators  of  the  new 
fractions,  and  under  the  sum  write  the  common 
denominator." 

The  following  more  detailed  process  is  suggested 
for  consideration  :  — 

How  shall  we  add  fractions  whose  denominators 
are  unlike  ? 

What  fractions  have  you  already  learned  to  add  ? 
Try  these,  ^  and  J%  -|  and  |.  ^  and  Jf  .  Can  you 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  1$ 

add  £  and  ^  ?  What  change  is  necessary  before  add- 
ing them?  Why  not  add  them  in  the  same  way  as 
the  others?  How  can  you  add  one  bushel  and  one 
peck  ?  Change  the  bushel  to  pecks.  Add  two  yards 
and  one  foot.  What  change  was  necessary  in  both 
examples? 

Add  I  and  J.  J=  f.  f  +  j  =  f  .  Illustrate  this 
with  a  square  divided  into  fourths  and  eighths.  Add 
-|  and  -j4^.  Add  ^  and  f  .  What  was  done  in  all  these 
cases  before  adding  ?  How  shall  we  add  ^  and  -|  ? 
How  can  you  change  the  two  fractions  so  that  they 
will  be  alike,  that  is,  have  the  same  fractional  unit? 
Change  them  to  twelfths.  One-third  equals  how 
many  twelfths  ?  One-fourth  equals  how  many 
twelfths  ?  £  +  -|  =  1*2  +  1%  =  i^.  Illustrate  this  with  a 
sheet  of  paper  folded  into  thirds,  fourths,  and  twelfths. 

Add  f  and  ^.    What  is  the  common  fractional  unit  ? 


Notice,  now,  what  was  done  in  each  of  these  prob- 
lems :  ^  +  \,  |  +  |-,  and  f  +  3^5--  The  fractions  in  the 
first  were  changed  to  twelfths,  in  the  second  to  tenths, 
and  in  the  third  to  twentieths.  Was  the  value  of  the 
fractions  changed  ?  But  in  each  example  the  frac- 
tions were  changed  to  a  common  fractional  unit,  or  a 
common  denominator.  What  was  done  to  the  numer- 
ators? In  each  fraction  they  were  changed  to  cor- 
respond with  the  change  in  the  denominator.  Then, 
in  adding,  the  numerators  were  added, 


l6  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

Make  a  rule  for  adding  fractions  that  will  cover  all 
the  cases  so  far  worked  :  — 

"To  add  these  fractions,  change  the  fractions  to 
equivalent  fractions  having  a  common  denominator. 
Add  the  numerators  for  a  new  numerator  and  use 
the  common  denominator  for  the  new  denominator." 

To  acquire  skill  and  accuracy  in  this  kind  of  addi- 
tion :  — 

1.  Add  oral  problems  as  follows  :  — 

m-  i+i-  i92+t-  *+&• 

2.  For  written  work  add  such  as  these :  — 

tt+H+l  =  ?  T9o+A  +  H=? 

3.  Add  mixed  numbers  as  follows :  — 


Trade  Centre  in  the  Northwest — Minneapolis  as  a  Type 

This  topic  may  be  treated  in  two  ways,  briefly,  as 
in  the  geographies,  or  in  a  fuller  inductive  manner. 
One  of  our  grammar  school  geographies  says  :  — 

"  Minneapolis,  which  adjoins  St.  Paul,  so  that  the 
two  are  called  the  'Twin  Cities,'  manufactures  more 
flour  than  any  other  city  in  the  world,  its  capacity 
being  40,000  barrels  a  day.  The  two  cities  have  had 
a  remarkably  rapid  growth." 

Tilden's  "Commercial  Geography,"  which  is  very 
much  fuller  on  this  topic  than  the  regular  geogra- 
phies, says: — 

"Minneapolis,  on  the  Mississippi  at  the  Falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  is  the  greatest  flour-milling  city  in  the 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  IJ 

world,  and  one  of  the  greatest  lumber  markets  and 
lumber-manufacturing  centres  in  America.  The 
yearly  output  of  the  flour  mills  is  nearly  10,000,000 
barrels.  Of  this  about  one-third  is  shipped  to  foreign 
countries,  constituting  about  one-fourth  of  the  total 
flour  export  of  the  United  States.  In  manufactur- 
ing this  flour  the  Minneapolis  mills  grind  about 
45,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  annually.  The  Pills- 
bury  '  A '  mill  is  the  largest  flour  mill  in  the  world, 
having  a  daily  capacity  of  7500  barrels.  The  saw 
and  planing  mills  of  Minneapolis  have  an  annual 
output  of  the  value  of  $10,000,000,  and  the  lumber 
is  manufactured  into  barrels,  boxes,  cars,  wagons,  and 
many  other  products,  aggregating  a  value  twice  as 
great.  In  the  decade  1880-1890  the  population  of 
Minneapolis  increased  nearly  fourfold." 

The  following  is  a  much  fuller  treatment  of  Min- 
neapolis in  its  important  relations  to  the  Northwest, 
such  as  would  require  several  recitations  :  — 

We  will  inquire  into  the  causes  which  make  Min-  Minneapolis, 
neapolis  an  important  city. 

Where  is  it  and  what  have  you  heard  about  it? 
Why  is  it  sometimes  called  the  flour  city  ?  What  is 
meant  by  the  "  Twin  Cities "  ?  Recall  Hennepin's 
trip  on  the  upper  Mississippi  and  what  you  know  of 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  Can  you  tell  something  of 
the  wheat  fields  and  pineries  of  Minnesota  ? 

St.  Paul  was  an  important  trading-point  and  the 
capital  of  the  state  before  Minneapolis  had  a  begin- 


18  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

ning.  Why  should  Minneapolis  spring  up  only  ten 
miles  away  and  soon  become  larger  even  than  St. 
Paul  ?  The  great  water-power  of  the  Falls  is  the  first 
answer.  How  can  water  from  a  river  be  used  to  run 
a  mill  ?  Where  have  you  seen  a  mill  run  by  water- 
power?  Describe  the  water-wheel,  the  dam,  and 
mill-race.  At  Minneapolis  the  water  is  carried  by  a 
channel  on  the  west  side  of  the  falls  under  the  great 
mills  where  it  drops  forty  feet  to  the  large  turbine 
wheels  at  the  bottom,  turning  them  and  with  them  all 
the  machinery  of  the  mills. 

Along  the  upper  Mississippi  and  its  branches  in 
northern  Minnesota  are  large  pine  forests.  How 
could  the  pine  logs  be  brought  to  the  sawmills  at 
Minneapolis?  Some  of  the  early  settlers  moved 
northward  into  the  pineries,  cut  down  the  trees  in 
winter  and  sent  them  floating  down  the  streams  to 
the  sawmills  at  Minneapolis.  Soon  large  lumber 
companies  were  formed  with  big  sawmills  at  the 
Falls,  and  owning  extensive  pine  lands  in  the  North. 
In  the  winter  time  they  sent  scores  of  men  to  the  log- 
ging camps  to  get  out  the  logs  and  float  them  down 
in  springtime  to  the  mills.  With  the  mills  at  Min- 
neapolis came  the  families  of  the  mill  companies  and 
of  the  workmen,  and  thus  a  flourishing  town  sprang 
up  at  the  Falls.  Great  lumber  yards  with  their  stacks 
of  boards  stretched  along  the  river. 

Some  of  this  lumber  would  be  used  in  building 
up  Minneapolis,  but  where  would  most  of  it  be  sent  ? 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  19 

The  farmers  were  rapidly  settling  up  the  prairie 
regions  of  the  Northwest.  Locate  these  prairies  on 
the  map.  In  what  directions  from  Minneapolis  would 
most  of  the  lumber  be  sent  ?  For  two  or  three  hun- 
dred miles  to  the  west,  southwest,  and  northwest  from 
Minneapolis  the  whole  prairie  land  was  rapidly  taken 
by  settlers.  How  could  this  lumber  be  gotten  best 
to  the  new  farms  and  villages  ?  At  first  wagons  were 
used,  but  soon  railroads  were  built  across  the  prairies, 
from  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  and  car-loads  of  lum- 
ber were  sent  out  to  the  towns  and  distributed  by 
merchants  to  the  farmers.  As  the  lumber  business 
grew  the  whole  upper  Mississippi  with  its  tributaries 
became  a  network  of  streams  and  logging  camps, 
collecting  logs  for  the  mills  at  Minneapolis.  Closely 
connected  with  the  sawmills  were  the  planing  mills 
for  preparing  dressed  lumber,  sash,  doors,  moulding, 
etc.  Factories  were  also  built  for  the  manufacture 
of  furniture,  barrels,  wagons,  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments. All  these  products  were  distributed  by  the 
railroads  over  the  broad  prairie  regions  of  southern 
and  western  Minnesota,  Iowa,  the  Dakotas,  and  Ne- 
braska. In  short,  Minneapolis,  by  reason  of  its  favor- 
able position  on  the  river  and  its  water-power,  soon 
became  the  chief  centre  of  the  lumber  business  of  the 
Northwest,  collecting  logs  from  the  pine  lands  of  the 
North,  working  them  up  into  lumber,  furniture,  etc., 
and  distributing  them  to  the  broad  area  of  prairie  states. 
How  would  the  prairie  farmer  pay  for  the  lumber 


2O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

wheat  and  and  other  goods  coming  from  St.  Paul  and  Minne* 
apolis  ?  What  is  the  leading  crop  of  the  Northwest  ? 
It  was  soon  found  that  the  prairies  were  well  adapted 
to  the  growth  of  wheat  and  other  small  grains.  In  a 
few  years  the  prairies,  with  the  rich  valley  of  the  Red 
River  of  the  North,  became  one  of  the  largest  wheat- 
producing  districts  in  the  world.  How  would  the 
farmers  get  their  wheat  and  other  grains  to  Minne- 
apolis? The  water-power  at  the  Falls  was  soon  found 
to  be  more  valuable  for  flour  mills  than  for  sawmills. 
In  the  lumber  mills  the  sawdust  supplied  abundance 
of  fuel  for  the  furnaces,  so  that  they  did  not  need  the 
water-power,  and  hence  the  latter  was  used  for  run- 
ning the  great  flour  mills  that  were  now  built  at  the 
Falls.  The  same  railroads  which  distributed  lumber 
to  the  prairies  collected  the  wheat.  In  1871  only 
two  car-loads  of  wheat  were  received  in  Minneapo- 
lis. In  1887  the  Great  Western  road  alone  brought 
33,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  elevators  at  Min- 
neapolis. In  1896  250,000  barrels  of  flour  were 
ground  here  in  a  single  week.  In  what  directions 
would  this  immense  quantity  of  flour  be  shipped  and 
marketed  ?  What  lake  ports  would  receive  much  of 
it  for  shipment  by  water  ?  Notice  on  a  railroad  map 
the  important  railroad  lines  from  the  Twin  Cities  to 
Duluth,  Mihvaukee,  and  especially  to  Chicago.  Much 
of  this  flour  is  shipped  to  Illinois,  Ohio,  etc.,  much  to 
Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  New  England,  and 
whole  cargoes  to  Liverpool  and  Hamburg. 


trade. 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  21 

Minneapolis  has  become  a  centre  for  the  collec- 
tion of  enormous  quantities  of  wheat  from  the  wheat 
regions  of  the  Northwest,  for  its  manufacture  into 
flour,  and  for  its  distribution  by  railways  and  water- 
ways to  the  large  populations  of  the  Middle  and 
Eastern  states  and  to  Europe.  The  flour  business, 
like  lumbering,  has  brought  a  large  population  and 
increase  of  business  to  Minneapolis. 

There  is  still  a  third  line  of  business  in  Minne-  Whoiesai« 
apolis  as  important  as  the  two  already  mentioned. 
What  goods  from  the  Eastern  states  are  shipped 
into  the  two  cities  for  sale  and  distribution  over 
the  Northwest  ?  Dry-goods,  wholesale  groceries,  ma- 
chinery, drugs,  china  and  porcelain,  glass,  hardware, 
tools  and  instruments,  books  and  paper,  and  hun- 
dreds of  other  products  of  Eastern  factories  and  mills, 
as  well  as  those  from  Europe,  are  shipped  to  the 
Twin  Cities  to  be  distributed  over  the  Northwest. 
Sum  up,  in  a  single  statement,  the  three  important 
lines  of  traffic  which  have  given  Minneapolis  its 
importance  as  a  trade  centre. 

Passing  down  the  Mississippi  in  a  steamboat  from  similar  cities 
St.  Paul,  we  notice  at  Wabasha,  Winona,  and  La 
Crosse,  at  Dubuque,  Davenport,  and  Rock  Island, 
great  sawmills  and  lumber  yards  even  as  far  as  St. 
Louis.  An  inquiry  into  the  causes  will  show  that  the 
St.  Croix,  the  Chippewa,  and  the  Black  rivers  are 
lumber  streams,  bringing  from  the  pineries  of  Wis- 
consin great  numbers  of  log  rafts  to  the  mills  of  all 


22  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

these  cities.  The  railroads  extending  westward  into 
Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  other  states  carry  the  lumber 
from  these  river  cities  to  the  prairies.  Large  flour 
mills  are  also  found  at  most  of  these  cities  where 
wheat  is  received  from  the  regions  of  the  West,  is 
milled  and  sent  eastward  as  flour. 

Compare  now  these  cities  along  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi from  Minneapolis  to  St.  Louis ;  note  how  they 
differ  in  size,  location,  and  importance.  Note  also 
whether  they  are  alike.  Compare  them  as  (i)  to 
having  sawmills,  and  as  to  where  the  logs  come  from. 
(2)  Compare  them  as  to  the  manufacture  of  flour 
and  the  sources  of  the  wheat.  ,  (3). Compare  them  as 
centres  for  the  wholesale  trade  in  goods  manufac- 
tured in  the  East,  and  (4)  as  to  advantages  for  river 
trade  north  and  south,  and  railroad  traffic  east  and 

west. 

» 

As  a  result  of  this  comparison  sum  up  the  char- 
acter of  all  the  cities  of  the  upper  Mississippi  as 
trade  centres.  Like  Minneapolis,  they  are  all  centres 
for  the  lumber  business,  receiving  logs  from  the 
pineries,  working  them  up  into  lumber,  and  distribut- 
ing them  to  the  prairies.  They  collect  wheat  from 
the  West,  mill  it,  and  distribute  it  to  the  East.  They 
are  also  centres  for  the  wholesale  trade  in  manufac- 
tured goods.  In  short,  the  whole  upper  Mississippi 
River,  with  its  cities,  forms  one  great  link  of  com- 
munication between  the  pineries  of  the  North  and 
the  prairies  of  the  West,  and  also,  by  means  of  rail- 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  2$ 

roads  and  lakes,  between  the  populations  of  the  East 
and  of  the  Northwest.  Minneapolis  is  the  chief 
representative  and  type  of  this  whole  series  of  cities 
on  the  upper  Mississippi  River. 

But  let  us  inquire  if  there  are  other  important  other  manu- 
centres  of  the  lumber  trade  besides  the  cities  of  the 
Mississippi.  Locate  such  cities  on  the  Great  Lakes 
as  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  Saginaw,  Detroit,  Buffalo, 
Cleveland.  Show  where  they  get  lumber  and  in 
what  directions  it  is  sold  and  delivered.  The  Great 
Lakes  are  found  to  be  in  the  midst  of  extensive 
pineries,  while  the  cities  mentioned  are  the  trading- 
points  for  collecting  and  distributing  lumber  south- 
ward to  the  large  populations  of  the  Middle  states. 
What  advantages  has  the  city  of  Albany,  N.Y.,  for 
the  lumber  trade  ?  Canals  connect  the  upper  Hud- 
son at  Albany  with  Lake  Champlain,  Lake  Ontario, 
and  Lake  Erie.  What  advantages  do  these  canals 
offer  for  the  lumber  trade  ?  What  cities  of  Maine 
and  New  Brunswick  are  noted  for  lumbering? 
Where  do  they  get  the  logs,  and  how  and  whither 
is  the  lumber  distributed  ?  What  other  cities  of  the 
United  States  are  important  for  trade  in  wheat  and 
flour?  What  other  cities  of  the  United  States  are 
located,  like  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  at  the  head 
of  steamboat  navigation  on  important  rivers?  Are 
any  of  them  noted  for  their  water-power?  What 
raw  products  are  collected  at  Pittsburg  ?  What  are 
its  factories?  Compare  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny 


24  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

with  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  in  advantage  of 
location,  as  trade  centres  for  great  staple  products, 
in  manufactures,  and  in  population. 

In  future  geographical  study  the  city  of  Minne- 
apolis and  the  group  of  cities  on  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi, of  which  it  is  the  special  type,  may  serve  as  a 
standard  of  comparison  in  measuring  the  commercial 
importance  of  other  large  trade  centres. 

Wisdom  better  than  Gold 

In  bringing  moral  and  religious  ideas  to  the  at- 
tention of  children,  many  teachers  begin  with  some 
general  statement  or  proverb  which  serves  as  a  text 
for  the  lesson.  If  the  teacher's  purpose  is  to  bring 
out  the  idea  of  a  selfish  love  of  money  and  its  evil 
effects,  such  a  proverb  as  "How  much  better  it  is 
to  get  wisdom  than  gold,"  or  "The  love  of  money 
is  the  root  of  all  evil,"  is  selected.  Remarks  are 
made  upon  the  truth  of  the  proverb,  and  simple  illus- 
trations of  the  evil  effects  of  the  excessive  desire  for 
money  are  presented.  According  to  the  same 
method  we  have  a  number  of  books  designed  for 
moral  instruction,  which  contain  short  treatises  or 
sermons  on  points  of  moral  conduct.  These  are 
read  to  the  school,  commented  upon,  and  perhaps 
further  but  briefly  illustrated.  This  plan  seems  to 
many  persons  a  short  and  easy  way  of  presenting 
moral  truths  to  children. 

Quite  a  different   process  of  getting  at  a  moral 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  2$ 

truth  is  illustrated  by  the  use  of  the  story  of  the 
Golden  Touch,  in  Hawthorne's  "Wonder  Book."  Here 
we  have  simply  a  story  full  of  interesting  personal 
detail,  with  no  prominence  at  first  given  to  the  moral. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  narrative  the  moral  idea  may 
be  keenly  felt,  though  not  expressly  stated  in  words. 
The  contrast  in  these  two  methods  of  bringing  out 
a  generalization  is  striking.  The  first  method  de- 
scribed above  gives  at  the  start  dogmatic  statement 
and  prominence  to  the  moral  truth,  while  the  method 
of  the  story  gives  only  a  hint  at  the  beginning  of 
the  moral  involved,  but  allows  it  to  be  developed 
incidentally  in  the  course  of  the  narrative.  A  few 
questions  at  the  end  of  the  story  will  bring  out  the 
moral  idea  with  great  clearness.  This  narrative  is 
in  its  nature  inductive,  and  its  presentation  to  chil- 
dren might  take  place  as  follows :  — 

How  a  King  loved  Gold  and  what  came  of  it 

Having  so  many  things,  why  should  kings  wish 
for  anything  more  ?  If  you  were  a  king  what  would 
you  wish  for  most  ?  What  would  you  wish  for  now 
if  you  had  your  choice  ?  We  shall  see  in  this  story 
that  a  certain  king  was  given  his  choice  of  the  thing 
he  most  desired  and  what  came  of  it. 

Tell  the  story  as  given  in  the  "Wonder  Book" 
(pages  55-6o),  which  narrates  how  Midas  came  into 
possession  of  the  Golden  Touch.  Let  the  children 
ask  questions.  Let  the  teacher  answer  as  well  as 


26  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

she  can  and  ask  others  to  bring  out  the  significant 
thoughts.  The  children  should  tell  the  story  again 
till  they  acquire  skill  and  ease  in  its  reproduction, 

The  following  questions  are  suggested  :  — 

What  opinion  have  you  of  Midas,  in  the  dungeon, 
counting  over  his  money  ?  How  might  he  have  spent 
his  time  better?  When  Quicksilver  gave  him  his 
choice,  did  Midas  stop  to  think  whether  his  wish 
was  wise  or  not? 

Tell  the  story  of  Midas  while  he  had  the  Golden 
Touch  (pages  60-70). 

When  Midas  found  that  he  had  the  Golden 
Touch,  how  did  he  feel  and  act  ?  When  did  he  first 
discover  that  the  Golden  Touch  was  not  entirely 
pleasant?  How  many  times  did  he  find  out  later 
that  it  was  a  cause  of  trouble  ?  What  were  the 
worst  things  that  happened  to  him  because  of  the 
granting  of  his  wish  ?  How  did  Midas  feel  when  he 
found  out  just  what  the  magic  touch  meant?  Could 
he  help  himself  in  any  way  ?  Did  he  have  exactly 
what  he  had  wished  for?  What  had  he  that  he 
didn't  wish  for  and  had  not  counted  on  ?  What 
could  he  have  wished  for  better  than  the  Golden 
Touch  ?  How  did  he  come  to  make  such  a  mistake  ? 
If  Quicksilver  understood  Midas's  mistake  at  the 
first,  why  did  he  not  tell  him  of  his  foolish  choice  ? 
What  would  have  happened  if  Midas  had  not  been 
able  to  get  rid  of  the  Golden  Touch  ?  Was  he  really 
anxious  to  get  rid  of  it  ?  What  reasons  had  he  for 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  2/ 

being  more  anxious  to  be  rid  of  it  than  he  was  in 
the  first  place  to  have  it  ? 

Tell  the  last  part  of  the  story  (pages  70-74). 

Did  Midas  waste  any  time  in  waiting  to  rid  him- 
self of  his  gold  ?  How  much  gold  did  he  throw 
away  ?  When  he  had  sprinkled  his  little  Marigold 
and  the  roses  back  into  life,  in  what  respect  was  he 
worse  off  or  better  off  than  at  the  beginning  of  the 
story  ?  Do  you  think  he  would  spend  much  time 
in  the  future  in  the  dungeon  counting  over  his 
money?  What  lesson  had  he  learned?  He  was 
a  much  wiser  man  than  before. 

Have  you  read  stories  before  in  which  persons 
were  given  a  choice  of  anything  they  might  wish? 
Recall  the  story  of  Baucis  and  Philemon. 

If  the  children  are  familiar  with  this  story,  let 
them  compare  the  choice  of  Midas  with  that  of  Bau- 
cis and  Philemon,  and  give  reasons  for  thinking  their 
choice  a  better  one. 

Why  did  they  not  choose  gold  as  did  Midas  ?  By 
choosing  wisely,  what  other  good  fortune  did  they 
receive  ?  Recall  also  the  story  of  Solomon  and  his 
choice.  What  did  Solomon  get  besides  what  he 
asked  for  ?  Why  was  his  choice  more  sensible  than 
Midas's  ?  Did  Solomon  have  any  reason  for  regret- 
ting his  choice  ?  How  was  it  with  Baucis  and  Phile- 
mon ?  Is  it  a  good  thing  in  choosing  to  prefer  money 
or  wealth  before  other  things  ?  What  things  are 
more  valuable  than  money  ?  In  the  stories  referred 


28  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

to,  what  things  prove  most  valuable  in  the  end  ? 
What  least?  Recall  Proverbs  xvi.  16,  "How  much 
better  it  is  to  get  wisdom  than  gold." 

Do  you  know  what  a  miser  is  ?  Of  what  value  is 
money  to  such  a  person  ?  What  are  some  of  the 
most  valuable  things  that  boys  and  girls  may  choose 
to-day  ?  In  the  choice  of  friends  and  companions,  is 
there  much  danger  of  making  a  mistake?  Should 
wealth  have  much  to  do  with  it  ? 

The  usual  social  life  of  the  school  offers  many 
opportunities  for  illustrating  and  applying  such  les- 
sons as  are  found  in  the  Golden  Touch.  The  lessons 
in  reading  and  history  may  also  supply  good  com- 
parisons. 

The  Metamorphosis  of  Butterflies  —  The  Milkweed 
Butterfly  as  a  Type 

One  of  the  older  zoologies  gives  the  following 
description  of  the  order  Lepidoptera,  to  which  the 
butterfly  belongs :  — 

"This  well-known  and  most  beautiful  of  all  the 
orders  of  insects  comprises  the  butterflies  and  moths, 
the  former  being  active  by  day  (diurnal)  and  the 
latter  mostly  by  twilight  (crepuscular)  or  at  night 
(nocturnal).  In  all  the  Lepidoptera  the  mouth  of  the 
adult  insect  is  purely  suctorial  and  is  provided  with  a 
spiral  trunk  fitted  for  imbibing  the  juices  of  flowers. 
The  wings  are  four  in  number,  and  are  covered  more 
or  less  completely  with  modified  hairs  or  scales,  which 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  2f) 

are  pretty  objects  under  the  microscope,  and  from 
which  the  wings  derive  their  beautiful  colors.  The 
larvae  of  the  Lepidoptera  are  generally  known  as 
caterpillars.  They  are  wormlike,  provided  with  mas- 
ticatory organs,  fitted  for  dividing  solid  substances, 
possessing  false  legs  in  addition  to  the  three  pairs 
proper  to  the  adult,  and  having  attached  to  the  under 
lip  a  tubular  organ  or  spinneret,  by  which  silken 
threads  can  be  manufactured."  (Nicholson.) 

In  the  above  lesson  we  have  a  verbal  description 
of  the  whole  class  of  butterflies  to  be  studied  and 
learned  by  the  student. 

The  following  treatment  of  the  milkweed  butterfly 
is  based  upon  the  idea  of  observation  by  the  children, 
questions,  comparison  of  data,  collections,  and  con- 
clusions drawn  from  direct  experience  with  the  objects 
studied.  The  method  of  question  and  discussion  can 
be  indicated  only  in  part :  — 

In  your  previous  observations  in  the  fields  and 
roads,  tell  of  the  habits  of  those  butterflies  which  you 
have  seen,  their  peculiar  flight,  whether  they  have 
been  noticed  on  flowers  or  in  damp  places.  What 
butterflies  are  you  most  familiar  with  ?  What  is  their 
food  ?  Do  you  know  what  the  butterflies  come  from  ? 
Have  you  seen  the  chrysalis  of  a  butterfly  and 
watched  its  change  ?  What  was  its  form  before  it 
became  a  chrysalis  ?  Does  it  seem  possible  that  a 
butterfly  could  come  from  a  caterpillar  ?  Have  you 
noticed  that  certain  butterflies  prefer  a  certain  kind 


3<D  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

of  plants,  and  what  the  caterpillars  feed  upon  ?  Do 
caterpillars  grow  larger  and  change  ? 

For  a  closer  understanding  of  the  changes  that 
take  place  in  a  caterpillar  and  in  other  forms  we 
will  follow  the  life  and  changes  of  the  milkweed  but- 
terfly from  the  laying  of  the  eggs  to  the  full-sized 
insect  in  its  later  life.  (Samuel  H.  Scudder's  "  Life 
of  a  Butterfly  "  will  be  very  helpful  to  teachers  in 
telling  where  and  when  to  look  and  in  explaining 
many  facts  derived  from  fuller  scientific  studies, 
published  by  Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  New  York.)  The 
principal  facts,  many  of  which  can  be  observed  by 
teacher  and  children,  are  briefly  told  as  follows :  — 

As  early  as  April  or  later  in  summer  the  butterfly 
deposits  its  eggs  (shaped  like  a  sugar  loaf,  one- 
twentieth  of  an  inch  in  height)  on  the  under  or  pro- 
tected side  of  the  upper  and  tender  leaves  of  the 
milkweed.  The  eggs  hatch  out  in  from  three  to  five 
days,  depending  on  the  warmth  of  the  weather.  As 
soon  as  the  little  caterpillar  gets  out  of  the  egg  it 
turns  and  eats  the  shell,  and  then  begins  to  feed  on 
the  green  leaf  of  the  milkweed.  It  is  a  great  eater, 
and  as  its  food  is  always  at  hand  it  spends  most  of  its 
time  eating  and  resting,  day  and  night.  (Let  the 
children  notice  these  facts  as  far  as  possible,  and 
observe  whether  it  is  careful  to  stay  on  one  side  of 
the  leaf.)  In  a  day  or  two  after  hatching,  the  cater- 
pillar makes  its  first  moult,  or  sheds  its  skin.  It 
grows  so  fast  that  its  skin  splits  off  and  it  comes  out 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  31 

in  a  new,  shining  coat.  Three  other  moults  follow 
before  it  reaches  its  full  growth,  lasting  in  all  at  least 
eleven  days,  but  usually  longer.  When  full  grown 
"the  caterpillars  are  striking  objects,  cylindrical, 
plump,  naked  worms,  growing  to  the  length  of  nearly 
two  inches,  with  transverse  bands  of  yellow  and 
black."  (Scudder.) 

"  Then  comes  the  change  to  the  chrysalis,  to  seek 
a  good  place  for  which  the  caterpillar  usually  leaves 
the  plant  (though  I  have  found  the  chrysalis  hanging 
pendant  from  the  leaf)  and  seeks  some  such  stable 
place  as  the  under  side  of  a  fence  rail,  or  a  jutting 
rock,  from  which  to  suspend.  Here  it  hangs  for  a 
variable  period  —  two  to  fourteen  days,  according  to 
the  season  and  temperature,  and  perhaps  the  expos- 
ure." "At  last  the  golden  spots  (on  the  chrysalis) 
begin  to  lose  their  brilliancy,  and  the  beautiful  green 
disappears;  the  orange  wings  of  the  imprisoned 
butterfly  now  become  visible  through  its  temporary 
sarcophagus,  which  it  bursts  open  on  the  following 
day,  and  the  liberated  insect  soon  takes  wing  to  join 
its  comrades,  select  its  mate,  and  pass  the  happy 
hours  of  a  brief  existence  in  revelling  in  the  sweets 
of  the  flowers  among  which  it  sprang  into  being." 
(Peale,  quoted  by  Scudder.) 

The  milkweed  butterfly  is  one  of  the  commonest 
and  most  widely  distributed  of  our  butterflies.  Col- 
lect two  or  three  specimens  from  the  meadows, 
noticing  meanwhile  their  flight,  places  of  lighting, 


32  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

size,  and  color.  It  measures  four  or  five  inches  from 
tip  to  tip  of  its  wings.  It  has  two  pairs  of  large 
orange-colored  wings  trimmed  in  black.  But  the 
margins  are  dotted  with  white.  The  veins  on  the 
wings  and  the  body  of  the  insect  are  black  dotted 
with  white  spots.  "  Of  easy,  quiet  flight  when  undis- 
turbed, often  sailing  smoothly  with  widespread 
wings,  yet  ever  ready  to  do  battle  with  a  tempestu- 
ous wind,  a  reckless  adventurer  in  its  contrasted 
livery  of  orange  and  black,  it  seems  the  very  beau- 
ideal  of  the  contented,  happy-go-lucky  butterfly." 

The  organs  of  the  butterfly  worthy  of  special 
study  are  the  wings,  the  eyes,  the  tongue,  the  scales, 
and  the  legs.  A  close  examination  of  the  delicately 
formed  and  beautiful  wings  gives  us  a  striking  view 
of  nature's  handiwork.  An  interesting  question  has 
arisen  whether  the  butterfly  can  see  clearly,  and 
whether  it  does  not  direct  its  movements  more  by 
smell  and  touch  than  by  sight.  The  tongue,  coiled 
up  like  a  delicate  watchspring,  is  formed  by  fasten- 
ing together  two  long,  hairlike  half-tubes.  These, 
when  uncoiled  and  properly  joined,  form  a  long, 
slender,  tubelike  tongue,  with  which  the  butterfly 
reaches  down  into  the  cups  of  clover,  milkweed,  and 
thistle  blossom,  and  draws  up  honey  for  its  food.  The 
scent  scales  are  of  peculiar  importance,  and  the  pro- 
tective coloring  of  caterpillars,  chrysalides,  and  butter- 
flies, by  which  they  manage  to  escape  their  enemies, 
has  been  studied  with  much  interest  by  entomologists. 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  33 

At  all  the  three  stages,  of  egg,  caterpillar,  and 
chrysalis,  the  insect  is  in  danger  from  open  and  se- 
cret enemies.  The  great  majority  of  eggs  are  proba- 
bly eaten  before  hatching  out,  by  spiders  and  large 
insects,  and  by  small  parasites.  The  caterpillars  are 
in  constant  danger  from  spiders,  crickets,  and  bugs, 
from  birds  and  reptiles,  and  from  the  parasitic  flies 
that  lay  their  eggs  in  the  grubs  and  destroy  many. 

The  milkweed  butterfly  is  found  in  summer  as  far 
north  as  Hudson  Bay,  and  throughout  all  parts  of 
the  United  States  where  the  milkweed  grows.  It  is 
supposed  to  be  properly  a  tropical  insect.  In  sum- 
mer it  is  believed  to  migrate  northward  with  the  sea- 
son, and  in  some  cases  south  of  parallel  thirty-one, 
to  come  out  again  in  the  spring  to  lay  eggs,  while 
many  probably  migrate  southward  to  warmer  regions 
to  continue  their  butterfly  life.  It  is  claimed  that 
the  insect  may  pass  the  winter  in  the  egg  state,  as  a 
caterpillar,  a  chrysalis,  or  as  a  full-grown  butterfly. 

During  the  same  season  what  other  butterflies  do  other 
you  see  commonly  along  the  roads  and  fields  ?     Find     uttei 
in  the  garden  some  of  the  cabbage  butterflies.     Try 
to  find  the  eggs  and  caterpillars.     Watch  their  devel- 
opment and  see  if  they  go  into  the  chrysalis  state. 
Watch  any  of  the  common  caterpillars  and  notice  the 
plant  on  which  they  feed,  the  moulting,  and  the  suc- 
cessive changes  till  maturity  is  reached.    See  if  differ- 
ent butterflies  get  their  food  in  the  same  way. 

In  comparing  the  different   common    caterpillars 

D 


34  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

and  butterflies  observe  the  different  plants  and  flow- 
ers  on  which  they  feed,  the  varying  localities  in  which 
they  are  found,  the  differences  in  size,  coloring,  and 
mode  of  flight.  Compare  the  whole  period  of  devel- 
opment in  one  butterfly  with  the  similar  period  in 
another  species.  Can  we  mark  distinct  correspond- 
ing stages  in  all  the  butterflies  observed  ?  Do  we 
find  corresponding  organs  and  modes  of  feeding  in 
the  different  caterpillars  and  also  in  the  butterflies  r 

What  is  the  outcome  of  this  comparison  of  the  full 
life  history  of  different  species  of  butterflies  ?  Briefly 
stated,  it  is  that  four  distinct  stages  are  clearly  marked 
in  the  life  of  all  the  specimens  observed  and  studied :  — 

I.  The  egg.  2.  The  caterpillar  with  its  moultings. 
3.  The  chrysalis  or  quiescent  condition.  4.  The  full- 
winged  butterfly.  The  mode  of  life  in  each  of  the; 
two  active  stages  is  very  similar  in  different  cater- 
pillars and  butterflies. 

We  have  examined,  however,  only  a  few  different 
species  of  butterflies.  In  your  future  excursions  ob- 
serve the  caterpillars,  chrysalides,  and  butterflies, 
with  their  life  habits  and  changes,  and  see  if  your 
previous  conclusions  are  correct.  Notice  also  the  life 
and  metamorphosis  of  other  insects,  as  moths  and 
flies,  and  discover  whether  similar  changes  occur. 

In  Unity  is  Strength 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  truths  taught  in 
history.  A  deep  conviction  as  to  its  value  led  to  the 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  35 

confederation  of  the  colonies  during  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  soon  after, 
and  to  the  Civil  War.  As  a  political  doctrine  it  has 
always  been  bitterly  opposed  by  extremists  in  favor 
of  states'  rights.  But  the  future  security  of  our  gov- 
ernment and  the  welfare  of  our  people  are  so  greatly 
dependent  upon  its  universal  acceptance  and  practi- 
cal realization  in  our  laws,  that  it  should  be  as  care- 
fully taught  in  history  as  are  the  laws  of  gravitation 
in  physics.  The  portion  of  our  history  that,  by  con- 
trast, most  forcibly  teaches  this  proverb  is  the  period 
immediately  following  the  peace  of  1783.  Barnes1 
devotes  to  it  not  quite  one  page,  under  the  head- 
ing, "Weakness  of  the  Government."  He  states  that 
under  the  Articles  of  Confederation  Congress  could 
recommend,  but  not  enforce;  that  bitter  jealousies 
existed  among  the  several  states;  that  there  was  a 
popular  desire  to  let  each  state  remain  independent ; 
that  a  heavy  debt  had  been  contracted,  which 
Congress  was  unable  to  pay;  that  people  rebelled 
against  payment  of  taxes ;  and  that  in  these 
circumstances  many  of  the  best  men  of  the  land 
felt  the  need  of  a  stronger  national  government. 
This  is  a  typical  text-book  treatment  of  the  mat- 
ter. No  direct  reference  is  made  to  the  above 
proverb,  but  the  same  general  truth  is  inferred 
from  a  brief  statement  of  several  important 
facts. 

i  "  Brief  History  of  United  States,"  p.  142. 


$6  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

Following  is  the  more  detailed  and  more  inductive 
treatment  of  this  idea  of  unity  :  — 

Let  us  consider  what  prevented  the  union  of  the 
thirteen  colonies  from  breaking  to  pieces  shortly  af- 
ter the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 

What  had  caused  their  union  in  the  first  place? 
How  long  had  it  lasted  ?  Was  it  effective  ?  In  what 
respects  was  it  defective  ? 

Even  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  when  there 
were  the  weightiest  reasons  for  close  union,  the  colo- 
nists were  not  fully  united.  Congress  had  failed  to 
raise  sufficient  money,  to  levy  sufficient  troops,  to  act 
with  decision,  etc.  What  was  the  cause  of  these  de- 
fects ?  Congress  was  not  endowed  with  large  powers. 
But  why  not?  Because  the  individual  states  were 
unwilling  to  surrender  important  rights  to  any  cen- 
tral authority.  What  reasons,  then,  can  be  given  for 
dissolving  the  Union  at  the  close  of  the  war  ?  The 
war  was  finished  on  account  of  which  the  Union  was 
formed.  Also,  each  state  wished  to  secure  to  itself 
all  power  possible. 

Let  us  see  what  facts  changed  this  feeling :  — 

i.  According  to  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  the 
states  were  to  protect  loyalists,  restore  to  them  prop- 
erty confiscated,  destroyed,  etc.  Who  was  to  attend 
to  this  ?  Congress.  But  Congress  did  not  have  suffi- 
cient power.  What  must  have  been  the  result  ?  The 
conditions  of  the  treaty  would  not  be  fulfilled.  Would 
England,  then,  be  bound  to  observe  the  treaty  ?  What 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  37 

effect  would  this  weakness  of  Congress  have  upon 
the  general  opinion  entertained  in  foreign  countries 
in  regard  to  our  own  country  ? 

2.  At  the  close  of  the  war  most  of  the  European 
nations  were  anxious  to  enter  into  commercial  agree- 
ments with  the  United  States.     But  when  they  saw 
the  weakness  of  Congress,  what  assurance  could  they 
feel  that  such  agreements  would  be  fulfilled  on  our 
part  ?     Effect  ? 

3.  The  states  together  had  contracted  a  war  debt 
of  about  $150,000,000.    They  were  already  poor,  and 
little  inclined  to  levy  taxes  in  order  to  pay  it.     Con- 
gress, too,  had  no  power  to  force  payment  from  them. 
What  effect  would  that  have  upon  our  credit  at  home 
and  abroad  ? 

4.  When  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  in  spite  of 
much   opposition,  attempted   to   levy  taxes   for   the 
general  government,  a  serious  rebellion  was  kindled, 
known  as  Shays's  Rebellion.     Congress  did  not  inter- 
fere.     Can  you  imagine  the  reason  ?      It  was  afraid 
to. 

5.  American   citizens  were   seized   and   sold   into 
slavery  in  the  markets  of  Algiers  and  Tripoli  with 
little  hope  of  energetic  attempts  at  rescue  by  our 
government. 

6.  Congress  was  even  unable  to  defend  itself  against 
violence.     In  1783  it  was  driven  out  of  Philadelphia 
by  eighty  mutinous  and  drunken  soldiers.     Did  such 
facts  bring  honor  or  dishonor  to  those  persons  who 


38  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

were  unwilling  to  grant  important   powers  to  the 
central  government  ?     Why  ? 

7.  Since  there  was  no  national  coinage,  what  kind 
of  coins  would  be  in  use  ?     If  English,  French,  Ger- 
man, and  Spanish  coins   of  various   and  uncertain 
values  were  the  only  coins  in  circulation,  what  would 
be   the   effect   upon   trade  ?      What   would   prevent 
clipping  and  counterfeiting  ?     How  would  a  cautious 
merchant  protect  himself  from  deception  ? 

8.  What    authority    would    settle     disputes    that 
might  arise   among   the   thirteen   states  ?     If    there 
was    no    authority   to    do    this,   what   might  easily 
result  ? 

(a)  There  were  such  disputes  in  abundance. 
The  larger  states  wished  to  become  rich  at  the 
expense  of  their  weaker  neighbors.  New  York 
levied  tariff  duties  on  firewood  from  Connecticut, 
and  upon  butter,  cheese,  chickens,  and  vegetables 
from  New  Jersey.  The  New  Jersey  legislature  in 
defence  levied  a  tax  of  $1800  a  year  on  the  light- 
house off  Sandy  Hook,  belonging  to  New  York. 
The  Connecticut  merchants  pledged  themselves  to 
suspend  all  commercial  relations  with  New  York 
for  twelve  months.  Pennsylvania  discriminated 
against  Delaware.  Thus  fuel  for  war  was  being 
collected. 

(#)  Differing  policies  in  regard  to  importation  of 
European  goods  widened  the  breach  between  the 
states.  When  the  other  New  England  states  had 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  39 

virtually  closed  their  ports  to  British  merchandise, 
Connecticut,  catching  at  an  advantage,  threw  hers 
wide  open. 

(c)  There  were  territorial  as  well  as  commercial 
disputes. 

Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  had  each  claimed 
the  Wyoming  valley.  It  had  been  adjudged  to 
Pennsylvania  by  a  special  federal  court,  although 
largely  settled  by  the  hated  Yankees.  In  1784 
great  suffering  was  produced  in  the  valley  by 
floods  and  cold.  Then  the  Pennsylvanians,  instead 
of  furnishing  prompt  assistance,  sent  militia  into 
the  region,  who  plundered  and  burned  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Yankees  and  drove  them  into  the  wil- 
derness. War  between  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania 
was  narrowly  averted  after  some  fighting  had  taken 
place. 

The  territory  now  known  as  Vermont  was  claimed 
by  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire. 
Troops  were  collected  for  the  support  of  these  claims, 
but  war  was  temporarily  prevented  through  Washing- 
ton's intervention. 

From  these  data  we  see  that  our  country  was  un- 
able to  command  the  respect  of  foreign  nations,  and 
even  of  its  own  citizens  ;  Congress  could  not  carry  out 
its  agreements,  pay  its  debts,  protect  its  citizens,  or 
even  itself ;  trade  was  greatly  hindered  because  there 
was  no  central  power  with  authority  to  control  coin- 
age. The  jealousy  among  the  states  was  leading  to 


4O  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

hostile  legislation  that  threatened  civil  war ;  civil  war 
was  further  kindled  by  commercial  and  territorial 
disputes. 

The  only  remedy  for  the  evil  in  each  case  was  a 
strong  central  authority;  only  through  such  an  au- 
thority could  the  individual  states  be  forced  to  abide 
by  the  conditions  of  the  treaty;  it  only  could  levy 
taxes,  quell  insurrection,  pay  the  national  debt,  pro- 
tect its  citizens,  and  thus  command  general  respect. 
Only  by  means  of  this  authority  could  the  jealousy 
among  the  states  be  kept  within  bounds,  the  com- 
mercial and  territorial  disputes  be  properly  adjusted, 
and  frequent  civil  war  be  avoided. 

In  consequence  of  these  faqts  union  became  a 
necessity ;  wise  men  came  more  and  more  to  feel  the 
force  of  the  proverb  that,  "  United  we  stand,  divided 
we  fall,"  or  "  In  unity  is  strength." 

After  long  discussion  by  representatives  from  the 
states  and  many  exciting  scenes  in  their  convention, 
the  final  outcome  was  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, establishing  a  strong  central  government 

Questions 

1.  Why  is  the  period  immediately  following  the 
Revolution  called  the   critical   period   of   American 
History  ? 

2.  Is  the  union  of  our  states  permanently  estab- 
lished ?     If  so,  when  was  it  accomplished  ?     If  not, 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  41 

when    will    it    probably    be    accomplished?      Give 
proofs. 

3.  What  great  orations  have  been  delivered  bear- 
ing upon  this  question  ?     What  was  the  occasion  of 
their  delivery  ? 

4.  There  are  already  three  different  governments 
upon  this   continent,  —  Mexico,  the  United   States, 
and   Canada.     They  are  fairly  prosperous   and   liv- 
ing in   harmony.      Would   you   risk   being   shot  at 
and   killed   in   order   to   prevent   the    establishment 
of   a  fourth   government  ?     Why  ?      Have   our  citi- 
zens ever  had  to  answer  that  question  in  a  practi- 
cal way  ? 

5.  On  what  other  occasions  has  our  Union  been 
threatened  ?     State  the  circumstances. 

6.  What  European  nations  have  suffered  particu- 
larly  from   lack   of    a   strong   central  government? 
What  was  the   nature  of  their  suffering,  and  how 
long  did  it  last?     (Germany  and  Italy.) 

7.  What  modern  inventions  have  greatly  aided  in 
making  a  close  union  of  our  states  possible  ?     How  ? 


CHAPTER   III 

HOW  INDIVIDUAL   AND    GENERAL   NOTIONS   ARE   DIS- 
TINGUISHED   FROM    EACH    OTHER 

ALL  knowledge  is  built  up  from  individual  and 
general  realities,  so  that  instruction  is  always  occu- 
pied with  one  or  the  other.  It  has  been  seen  that 
differences  in  method  are  due  first  of  all  to  the  order 
in  which  these  two  are  presented ;  some  teachers 
would  begin  with  the  general  notion  or  rule,  and 
furnish  the  individual  instances  later,  as  the  rule 
for  the  plural  of  nouns  ending  in  s,  x,  sk,  etc.,  while 
others  would  take  the  opposite  course.  Since  these 
two  kinds  of  notions  are  of  vital  importance  it  is  well 
to  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  each. 
Sources  of  The  notions  that  are  furnished  apparently  through 

individual  -  .  .,..,.,  _, 

notions.  the  senses  alone  are  individual  notions.  For  in- 
stance, the  images  of  the  many  things  about  us 
gained  through  the  sense  of  sight  belong  to  this 
class.  I  have  an  individual  notion  of  the  pen- 
holder with  which  I  am  now  writing,  of  the  room 
in  which  I  am  sitting,  and  of  the  meadow  that  I 
see  from  my  window.  Touch,  without  the  aid  of 
sight,  gives  a  similar  kind  of  notion  ;  blind  men  get 

42 


HOW   NOTIONS    ARE    DISTINGUISHED  43 

definite  mental  pictures  of  the  objects  about  them 
by  the  use  of  their  hands.  It  is  an  individual  notion 
that  one  receives  when  he  perceives  the  color  of  a 
flower,  the  odor  of  an  apple,  or  the  chirp  of  a  bird. 
Thus  each  sense  may  be  the  source  of  individual 
notions  or  percepts,  without  the  aid  of  the  others. 
Usually,  however,  they  work  together,  giving  a  com' 
bined  result,  as  when  one  determines  through  the 
senses  of  sight,  smell,  touch,  and  taste  that  a  certain 
object  is  an  apple.  In  this  case  the  idea  is  certainly 
very  complex,  but  since  it  must  be  referred  to  one 
definite  object  it  is  called  an  individual  notion. 

Further  than  that,  individual  facts  and  relation- 
ships, as  well  as  material  things,  are  a  source  of 
particular  notions.  For  example,  when  we  read 
in  history  that  Guy  Fawkes  attempted  to  blow  up 
the  English  Parliament  with  gunpowder  in  1605, 
we  picture  an  individual  fact  or  notion.  Again, 
when  we  say  in  grammar  that  the  word  Parliament 
in  this  sentence  is  the  direct  object  of  the  verb  blow 
up,  and  is,  hence,  in  the  objective  case,  we  speak  of 
the  individual  relation  existing  between  a  particular 
word  and  another  expression ;  in  other  words,  we 
have  a  fact  in  mind  which  is  as  individual  or  con- 
crete in  its  nature  as  is  the  color  of  a  particular 
flower. 

The  nature  of  general  notions   is   best   seen   by  origin  and 
directing  attention  to  the  way  in  which  they  arise.  1™^°* 
If  one  has  seen  but  one  chair,  he  has,  then,  only  an  notions. 


44  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

individual  notion  of  chair ;  he  has  an  object  in  mind 
of  a  certain  size,  color,  material,  weight,  shape,  etc. 
On  seeing  a  second  one,  differing  only  in  material 
from  the  first,  the  material  of  which  it  is  made  be- 
gins to  be  recognized  as  a  subordinate  matter.  Let 
a  dozen  different  kinds  be  seen,  and  more  of  those 
properties  that  are  variable  or  individual  come  to  be 
recognized  as  such ;  as,  for  instance,  the  color,  weight, 
shape,  etc.  But  some  characteristics  remain  ever  the 
same,  though  they  be  few  in  number.  Each  chair 
would  be  found  to  have  a  back  and  to  be  intended 
for  a  seat.  If  one  hundred  of  them  were  perceived, 
these  common  qualities  would  appear  one  hundred 
times,  while  others  would  appear  only  once,  or  sev- 
eral times,  but  not  all  of  the  time.  These  common 
or  general  properties  compose  the  general  notion,  so 
far  as  it  has  been  found.  There  is  one  important 
limitation,  however.  It  could  easily  happen  that  each 
of  the  hundred  chairs  seen  has  not  three  or  five  legs, 
but  just  four.  In  that  case,  according  to  the  state- 
ment just  made,  the  general  notion  chair  might  sig- 
nify an  object  with  a  back  and  four  legs,  that  was 
intended  for  a  seat.  But  although  all  chairs  thus  far 
made  were  made  with  four  legs,  we  know  that  it  is 
not  a  necessary  or  essential  property  of  chairs ;  they 
can  have  a  larger  or  smaller  number.  Hence  the 
word  chair  should  signify  an  object  with  a  back  and 
intended  for  a  seat.  The  idea  expressed  by  this  defi- 
nition is  what  is  meant  by  the  general  notion  chair; 


HOW    NOTIONS    ARE   DISTINGUISHED  45 

it  is  the  sum  of  those  characteristics  that  are  both 
common  and  essential  to  chairs. 

It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  distinguish  the  essential  Difficulty  of 

fifcttincf 

qualities  of  an  object  from  those  that  are  common  accurate 
or  usually  present,  but  accidental.     Every  individual  general 

J   f  J  notions, 

thing  has  very  many  characteristics,  most  of  which 

are  entirely  peculiar  to  itself.  .But  it  requires  much 
study  to  determine  whether  some  of  the  more  com- 
mon ones  are  essential  or  not.  For  example,  is  it  a 
necessary  property  of  chairs  that  they  be  movable, 
that  they  be  intended  for  one  person,  and  that  they 
approximate  a  certain  size?  Webster's  dictionary 
includes  the  first  two  of  these  three  limitations  in  the 
first  definition  of  chair;  it  states  that  a  "chair  is  a 
movable  single  seat  with  a  back."  Evidently  the 
third  is  not  considered  a  necessary  property.  Owing 
to  the  great  difficulty  in  distinguishing  what  qualities 
are  absolutely  essential  to  a  given  object,  it  is  seldom 
that  really  correct  general  notions  even  about  com- 
mon things  are  reached.  Few  educated  men  can 
correctly  define  table  or  knife,  or  house  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment,  or  even  after  reflection.  Likewise, 
their  conceptions  of  trade-centres  and  of  social  laws 
presented  through  literature  and  history  (as  suggested 
in  the  preceding  chapter)  are  often  quite  undefined. 

Still,  children  have  a  vague  general  notion  of  these 
things.  Wherein,  then,  are  their  generalizations  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  educated  people  ?  The  difference 
lies  in  the  degree  to  which  accidental  qualities  are 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


Psychical 
and  logical 
general 
notions. 


distinguished  from  essential  ones.  For  a  clear  under 
standing  of  general  notions  it  is  necessary  to  realize 
that  there  are  two  kinds ;  namely,  the  crude  and  the 
pure. 

As  soon  as  children  begin  to  use  the  plural  num- 
ber, to  say  even  two  intelligently,  they  are  beginning 
to  generalize.  Of  course,  the  individual  character- 
istics of  things  are  entirely  confused  with  those  that 
are  common  and  necessary,  and  this  confused  state 
of  mind  exists  throughout  childhood.  It  is  the  only 
state  reached  by  uneducated  people  in  regard  to 
most  things.  Such  crude  concepts  are  technically 
named  psychical  notions. 

As  already  stated,  even  carefully  educated  men 
do  not  entirely  escape  this  confusion.  But  their 
concepts  are  so  much  more  nearly  correct  that  they 
are  often  given  a  separate  name,  i.e.  logical  notions. 
A  really  logical  notion  is  one  that  is  absolutely  cor- 
rect, or  one  that  is  entirely  free  from  accidental 
properties ;  it  is,  therefore,  a  pure  notion,  in  distinc- 
tion from  the  crude  (or  mixed)  ones  held  by  the 
uneducated.  It  is  rather  the  ideal  toward  which  peo- 
ple work  than  the  goal  which  they  actually  attain, 
although  in  certain  studies,  as  mathematics  arid  gram- 
mar, logical  notions  are  probably  reached.  It  is  one 
of  the  chief  aims  of  instruction  to  develop  psychical 
into  logical  notions;  progress  in  education  means  a 
clearing  up  of  crude  notions.  Children  should  be 
gradually  led  to  set  aside,  as  unimportant,  many  of 


HOW   NOTIONS   ARE   DISTINGUISHED  47 

the  qualities  of  things  that  they  have   been  accus- 

tomed to  consider  as  essential,  and  to  recognize  as 

necessary  some  that  they  have  heretofore  overlooked, 

so  that  they  may  perceive  the  general  notion  or  law 

involved.    It  is  very  important  to  realize  that,  though 

logical  notions  can  never  be  fully  reached,  instruction 

is  always  striving  to  attain  them  as  nearly  as  possi- 

ble ;  they  are  really  the  goal  of  instruction.     A  gen- 

eral notion,  as  its  name  implies,  does  not  refer  to  one  Distinguish- 

particular  object  and  to  no  other,  but  to  many  of  the  I 


same  sort,  as  the  word  river  to  a  whole  class  of  ob-  and  general 

notions. 

jects.  It  differs  from  individual  notions  just  as  com- 
mon nouns  differ  from  proper  names.  The  latter 
apply,  in  each  case,  to  only  one  certain  object,  as 
Illinois  to  one  of  the  Central  states,  while  the  former 
refer  to  any  one  of  a  class,  as  child  to  any  one  of 
millions  of  persons.  Proper  names  compose  a  rela- 
tively small  class  of  words;  almost  all  other  words 
stand  for  generalizations;  for  instance,  the  verb  run 
signifies  a  certain  class  of  actions  ;  sweet,  a  quality 
common  to  a  great  number  of  objects;  the  preposition 
underneath,  a  kind  of  relationship  that  may  frequently 
exist  between  objects.  Each  of  these  notions,  instead 
of  applying  to  a  single  case  and  to  no  other,  covers  a 
multitude  of  individual  cases  or  classes. 

Knowing  now  the  nature  of  individual  and  general 
notions,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  recognize  each  in 
its  various  forms.  Numerous  examples  of  the  former 
have  been  given.  As  to  the  latter,  not  only  do  al- 


48  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

most  all  words  signify  generalizations,  but  the  rules 
of  grammar  and  arithnletic  do  the  same.  The  defini- 
tions of  mathematics,  as  of  triangle,  plane,  etc. ;  the 
laws  of  physics,  as  the  laws  of  pulleys  and  of  gravi- 
tation; the  principles  of  science,  as  the  economical 
principle  that  man  is  by  nature  lazy,  and  moral  max- 
ims, as  that  we  should  do  unto  others  as  we  would 
have  them  do  unto  us,  are  all  general  notions :  they 
are  all  reached  by  the  same  process,  by  the  separa- 
tion of  non-essential  characteristics  from  those  that 
are  essential.  Definitions,  rules,  laws,  proverbs,  prin- 
ciples, and  maxims  are  general  truths  or  notions :  the 
individual  instances  illustrating  them  are  individual 
truths  or  notions.  In  the  second  place,  general  no- 
tions distinguish  themselves  from  individuals  by  the 
fact  that  the  latter  can  be  imaged  or  pictured  con- 
cretely, while  the  former  cannot. 

Any  particular  chair  presents  a  certain  appear- 
ance; it  has  definite  form,  weight,  color,  etc.,  and 
the  mental  picture  of  it  contains  these  particular 
characteristics.  Any  historical  event  has  a  peculiar 
setting;  it  was  performed  at  a  certain  time  and 
place,  by  a  certain  person  or  persons,  under  particu- 
lar conditions,  in  a  definite  manner,  etc.  When  it 
is  reproduced  mentally  it  must  be  accompanied  with 
its  peculiar  environment.  Objects  and  events  that 
have  never  been  actually  witnessed,  but  only  imag- 
ined, must  also  be  pictured  in  detail  in  the  same 
way.  But  general  notions  and  laws  cannot  be  thus 


HOW   NOTIONS   ARE   DISTINGUISHED  49 

clearly  imaged  or  seen  concretely.  They  do  not 
apply  to  just  one  object,  event,  or  relation,  but  to 
any  and  all  of  a  class ;  in  fact,  they  have  no  exter- 
nal objective  existence,  hence  they  cannot  be  limited 
to  any  certain  form,  color,  time,  place,  setting,  etc. 
The  word  chair  signifies  the  common  essential  char- 
acteristics of  chair  without  reference  to  any  particular 
example;  the  preposition  underneath,  a  relationship 
that  may  frequently  exist  between  nouns  or  pronouns 
and  other  words  without  naming  any  specific  case; 
the  moral  maxim,  honesty  is  the  best  policy,  calls  to 
mind  a  general  truth  without  mentioning  any  in- 
stances that  illustrate  it.  Frequently,  however,  these 
instances  are  so  close  at  hand  that,  when  the  general 
notion  is  presented,  one  or  more  of  the  individuals 
that  fall  under  it  come  immediately  to  consciousness. 
When  we  think  horse,  it  is  impossible  not  to  call  some 
favorite  horse  into  mind. 

The  last  statement  indicates  the  relationship  prop- 
erly existing  between  individual  and  general  notions. 
The  latter  are  not  creations  entirely  separated  from 
the  former,  but  are  intimately  associated  with  them. 

1 "  The  general  notion  is  not  a  new  mental  product  Relationship 
existing  apart  from  and  outside  of  the  concrete  no- 
tions,  but  it  is  thought  out  each  time,  inasmuch  as  a 

notions. 

person  from  among  the  numerous  ideas  of  the  same 
kind  (or  also  from  only  one  idea)  lifts  exclusively  the 
essential  characteristics  into  the  centre  of  conscious- 

1  Lange's  "  Apperception,"  p.  84. 


5O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

ness,  and  endeavors  to  isolate  them  from  the  others, 
which  recede  or  withdraw  (an  attempt  that  is  always, 
of  course,  only  partially  successful).  It  is  like  a 
melody  that  can  be  easily  distinguished  in  a  piece 
of  music  of  several  parts  on  account  of  special  em- 
phasis or  peculiar  registering,  while,  however,  it 
never  ceases  to  form  a  constituent  part  of  the  sepa- 
rate accords.  It  happens  to  us  regularly,  when  we 
attempt  really  to  think  a  concept  and  not  simply  to 
repeat  the  words  of  the  definition,  that  we  involun- 
tarily glide  down  among  its  individual  notions;  that 
we  hasten  through  these  quickly  and  emphasize  what 
is  common  and  essential,  rejecting  the  non-essential. 
The  general  is  not  really  separated  from  the  par- 
ticular, but  only  distinguished  from  it ;  for  deep 
down  in  consciousness  it  is  always  united  with  what 
is  concrete." 


CHAPTER   IV 

WHY   GENERAL   NOTIONS    OR   CONCEPTS    ARE   THE   GOAL 
OF    INSTRUCTION 

THE  declaration  that  logical  notions  are  the  goal 
of  all  instruction  is  so  far-reaching  in  its  bearings 
that  it  deserves  further  consideration.  Pestalozzi 
called  the  attention  of  teachers  emphatically  to 
this  truth,  but  he  failed  signally  to  apply  it  to  his 
own  teaching.  Since  his  time  men  have  commonly 
accepted  his  assertion  as  true,  but,  like  him,  have 
expended  little  effort  in  applying  it  to  school  in- 
struction. In  consequence,  one  of  the  weightiest 
thoughts  in  education  has  been  largely  overlooked 
by  educators.  How  effect  reform  in  this  direction  ? 
It  is  certain  that  teachers  will  not  labor  persistently 
to  reach  after  and  apply  generalizations  in  the  class- 
room until  they  have  learned  both  to  distinguish 
between  individual  and  general  notions,  and  to  ap- 
preciate the  great  value  of  the  latter.  The  preced- 
ing chapter  treated  of  the  first  of  these  two  points 
—  attempting  to  explain  the  difference  between  the 
two  kinds  of  notions ;  the  pre,c^.nt  chapter  takes  up 
^.he  second  point  and  aims  to  show  why  instruction 
culminates  in  generalizations. 

51 


METHOD    OF   RECITATION 


Particular 
notions 
always  the 
raw  material 
of  knowl- 
edge. 


Throughout  this  discussion  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  value  of  individual  or  concrete  facts 
as  the  basis  of  all  knowledge  is  by  no  means  ques- 
tioned. Undoubtedly  the  senses  furnish  the  ele- 
ments of  all  thought;  it  is  only  through  individual 
notions,  or  percepts,  that  the  higher  notions,  or  con- 
cepts, can  ever  be  reached.  Modern  philosophers, 
scientists,  and  teachers  have  demonstrated  this  prin- 
ciple so  completely  that  it  needs  no  further  proof. 
Object  lessons,  excursions,  pictures  in  class,  etc., 
have  been  advocated  so  that  learners  might,  through 
them,  secure  vivid  concrete  notions.  Much  of  the 
recent  reform  in  education  has  been  along  this  line. 
Nevertheless  the  percepts  thus  obtained  do  not 
constitute  the  whole  of  knowledge  ;  they  are  only 
its  foundation  ;  or,  using  another  figure,  they  are  the 
raw  material  out  of  which  important  thoughts  are 
produced.  But  if  instruction  simply  presented  these 
facts  and  then  ceased,  it  would  be  like  the  archi- 
tect stopping  when  his  foundation  walls  were 
finished,  or  the  manufacturer  ceasing  work  as  soon 
as  the  wool  was  collected  out  of  which  cloth  might 
be  made.  Such  work  by  itself  is  useless ;  it  must  be 
followed  by  something  more.  So  in  education,  per- 
cepts are  not,  in  and  by  themselves,  of  vital  impor- 
tance to  human  beings ;  their  worth  consists  not  in 
themselves  but  in  what  they  lead  to  or  suggest  beyond 
themselves ;  namely,  concepts. 

Some  of  the  facts  of  instruction  are  often  felt  to 


THE    GOAL    OF    INSTRUCTION  53 

be  too  trivial  for  study.     For  example,  who  cares  HOW  to 
what   the  name  of   the  man  was  who  assassinated  between13 
William  of   Orange?     Even  if   one  knew   it   to  be  useful  and 

useless 

Balthazar  Gerard,  what  worth  is  there  in  the  knowl-  particular 
edge  ?  Pestalozzi  is  said  to  have  observed  with  care 
the  cracks  and  the  knot  holes  in  the  schoolroom  wall 
with  his  pupils.  But  suppose  that  there  are  just 
twenty-eight  cracks  in  the  plastering  of  any  room, 
you  would  smile  at  one's  stating  the  fact,  and  would 
remark,  "  What  of  it  ? "  On  the  other  hand,  any  inci- 
dents in  the  boyhood  of  George  Washington  are 
highly  treasured ;  the  details  of  his  conduct  at  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  at  Valley  Forge,  during  his  terms  of 
office  as  President,  and  in  his  family,  are  preserved 
for  all  future  generations.  But  why  any  concern 
about  such  events  ?  Washington  is  dead,  his  age 
is  past,  most  of  his  actions  are  not  directly  related 
to  us.  Why  preserve  them  so  carefully  ?  Or  what 
difference  does  it  now  make  whether  or  not  a  certain 
man  named  Guy  Fawkes  did  attempt  to  blow  up  the 
English  Parliament  with  gunpowder  in  the  year  A.D. 
1605  ?  That  was  a  long  time  ago,  and  our  interests 
have  shifted  to  very  different  scenes.  Knowledge  of 
that  fact  and  its  circumstances  may  happily  prevent 
the  appearance  of  ignorance  at  some  critical  moment, 
or  help  one  to  pass  an  examination  creditably ;  but  of 
what  real  use  is  it  beyond  that  point  ? 

The  reason  for  this  difference  in  the  value  of  de- 
tails is  suggested  by  an  analogy,  i.e.  the  history  of 


54  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

the  attention  given  to  falling  apples.  Probably  apples 
have  been  dropping  from  trees  ever  since  Adam  and 
Eve  tasted  of  the  forbidden  fruit;  but  such  little 
events  have  elicited  no  special  interest  until  they 
gave  hints  to  a  philosopher  of  the  wonderful  law 
of  gravitation.  Their  value,  therefore,  consists  not 
in  themselves,  but  in  what  they  suggest.  The  same 
is  true  of  Franklin's  experiment  with  the  kite  and 
electricity.  It  would  be  ridiculous  to  preserve  all 
the  details  of  that  incident  if  there  were  no  uni- 
versal truth  involved  in  it;  but  since  it  led  to  the 
discovery  of  another  great  natural  law,  it  is  justly 
famous.  Likewise,  the  daring  deed  of  Guy  Fawkes 
is  in  itself  without  value;  but  if  it  is  the  means  of 
revealing  a  general  truth,  it  becomes  important.  In 
this  historical  event  are  revealed  the  boldness  and 
wickedness  of  a  few  human  beings,  and  the  hos- 
tility that  once  threatened  a  strong  government. 
Such  facts  indicate  the  possible  wickedness  of 
other  human  beings  and  the  occasional  hostility 
that  governments  must  encounter.  These  gener- 
alizations act  as  warnings,  and  influence  present 
action.  As  far  as  Washington's  character  is  con- 
cerned, it  would  make  little  or  no  difference  to  us 
if  he  did  struggle  with  almost  superhuman  power 
at  Valley  Forge,  were  not  the  qualities  that  he 
there  exhibited  recognized  as  being  in  universal 
demand.  Seeing  how  he  acted  under  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, we  are  reminded  of  the  way  in  which 


THE    GOAL    OF    INSTRUCTION  55 

all  men  should  act.  We  forget  that  his  was  an  in- 
dividual character,  and  we  idealize  and  universalize 
it.  Then,  by  comparison  of  our  own  lives  with  this 
ideal,  we  recognize  the  demand  made  upon  us  for 
nobler  living.  Thus,  the  Washington  of  one  cen- 
tury ago  touches  the  men  of  to-day  through  the  uni- 
versal qualities  of  character  that  he  presents.  His 
life  bears  no  immediate  relation  to  our  own,  but  it 
suggests  rules  of  conduct  which,  being  general  or 
universal,  are  binding  upon  all  individuals  alike.  The 
motives  that  controlled  his  actions  could  scarcely  be 
even  matters  of  curiosity  now,  did  they  not  seem 
sufficiently  admirable  to  possess  this  universal  worth. 
On  the  other  hand,  since  the  exact  number  of  cracks 
in  a  wall  hint  at  no  rule,  it  is  worthless  knowl- 
edge. Likewise,  the  learning  of  names  of  capes  in 
geography,  of  margins  of  leaves,  of  dates,  is  likely 
to  prove  valueless,  because  such  facts  usually  hint 
at  nothing  beyond,  suggest  no  general  truth  or  law. 
If  this  standard  for  the  worth  of  details  were  more 
generally  carried  in  mind,  many  facts  ordinarily 
taught  would  be  omitted,  and  often  others  would 
take  their  place. 

The  study  of  past  events  is  valuable,  therefore,  to  One  peculiar 
the  extent  that  they  suggest  laws  which  are  applica-  g°nera° 
ble  at  other  times  and  in  other  places.    Concrete  facts  "otlons  1S 

c  found  m  the 

in  all  subjects  of  study  are  at  least  comparatively  breadth  of 
worthless,  unless   they  are  recognized   as   instances  application, 
of   general  truths.     Examples  in  arithmetic  are  or- 


$6  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

dinarily  worked,  not  primarily  for  their  own  sake, 
but  in  order  to  reveal  the  law  governing  the  pro- 
cess involved. 

Everywhere  general  notions  are  of  especial  value 
because  they  find  a  broader  application  than  indi- 
vidual notions;  they  possess  universality.  This 
thought  has  been  tersely  stated  by  Kant  in  his  asser- 
tion that,  "  Anschauungen  ohne  Begriffe  sind  blind" 
or,  Concrete  notions  without  generalizations  are 
blind;  they  reveal  nothing,  they  apply  to  nothing. 
Hence  we  conclude  that  the  first  great  use  of  gen- 
eralizations is  in  securing  unlimited  application  or 
universality  to  knowledge.  It  is  probably  incorrect 
to  say  that  they  are  more  important  than  individual 
notions,  for  both  are  indispensable.  One  would 
scarcely  say  that  the  light  in  a  lighthouse  is  more 
important  than  the  lighthouse  itself,  for  the  latter  is 
the  condition  of  the  former ;  yet  the  tower  was  con- 
structed in  order  that  it  might  contain  the  light,  and 
it  would  be  worthless  without  it;  hence  it  finds  its 
value  in  the  light  that  it  carries.  The  final  object  of 
the  entire  structure  is  to  furnish  light.  So  the  final 
object,  the  goal  of  instruction,  is  the  generalization, 
although  individual  notions  are  indispensable  in 
attaining  it. 

How  gener- 
alizations are        Second,  generalizations  are  a  necessary  condition 

thinking°and   both  f°r  thinking  and  for  the  expression  of  thought, 
to  the  Probably  very  little  thinking  takes  place  without  the 

expression  of 

thought.         help  of  words,   or   symbols   that  are  equivalent  to 


THE    GOAL    OF    INSTRUCTION  57 

words ;  they  are  the  only  track  upon  which  thought 
glides  along  smoothly.  That  being  the  case,  it  is 
evident  that  if  all  words  signified  individuals,  as 
do  proper  nouns,  thought  would  be  very  much 
limited.  Without  general  terms,  i.e.  without  com- 
mon nouns  and  the  other  seven  parts  of  speech,  all 
general  notions,  rules,  maxims,  laws,  etc.,  would  fail 
us.  Argument  would  be  impossible,  and  logical  con- 
clusions could  not  be  drawn.  But  when  general 
terms  are  allowed,  and  when  the  concepts  for  which 
they  stand  are  abundant,  thought  becomes  free.  Not 
only  that,  but  when  concepts  are  well  developed,  a 
great  impetus  is  given  to  thought.  For  example,  if 
the  general  truths  are  well  established  in  one's  mind 
that  heat  expands  and  cold  contracts,  or  that  every- 
thing that  happens  has  an  adequate  cause,  one  is 
prompted  to  make  many  applications  of  this  law  to 
practical  affairs.  Philosophers,  scientists,  etc.,  who 
have  reached  a  large  number  of  such  generalizations, 
are  continually  occupied  in  using  them  as  the  basis 
for  new  hypotheses.  Thus  great  mental  activity  is 
secured  and  valuable  conclusions  are  reached. 

The  free  expression  of  thought  to  others  is  also 
involved  in  the  existence  of  concepts.  If  two  per- 
sons were  continually  seeing  different  objects  and 
having  different  experiences,  while  general  terms 
were  wanting,  there  would  be  no  way  for  one  to 
communicate  his  ideas  to  the  other.  Any  word  em- 
ployed would  signify  only  the  particular  experience 


58  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

of  a  certain  individual.  But  with  an  abundance  of 
concepts  and  terms  for  the  same,  thoughts  can  be 
readily  communicated ;  then,  even  though  people  be 
not  acquainted  with  the  same  individual  objects,  the 
common  use  of  the  same  terms  allows  any  word  to 
signify  essentially  the  same  thing  to  each  mind. 
HOW  general  A  third  important  consideration  is  that  the  pos- 

notions  are  .  _  r    n        j          i  i  v       .•  • 

related  to  the  session  of  carefully  developed  generalizations  signi- 
orgamzation    fjes  a   prOO(j   classification   of   one's   knowledge.     In 

of  knowl- 
edge, order  to   be  of  practical  use  the  books  in  a  library 

must  be  carefully  classified  or  arranged  in  groups, 
those  of  a  kind  being  placed  together.  This  is  a 
matter  of  so  much  importance  that  in  any  large 
library  several  men  devote  all  of  their  time  to  this 
work.  Without  such  care  books  are  forgotten  or  can- 
not be  found,  and  hence  they  prove  useless.  The 
mind  is  practically  a  great  library  in  which  ideas 
need  likewise  to  be  carefully  grouped.  It  is  of  little 
value  for  a  man  to  collect  a  large  number  of  precious 
experiences  if  they  cannot  be  found  when  wanted. 
Chaos  is  as  utterly  opposed  to  utility  in  the  case  of 
ideas  as  in  the  case  of  household  furniture,  toilet 
articles,  books,  etc. 

As  already  seen,  nature  compels  some  degree  of 
classification  of  our  notions,  for  the  essential  charac- 
teristics of  an  object  are  presented  to  us  in  each 
individual  of  a  class,  while  the  non-essentials  are 
likely  to  appear  only  once,  or  a  few  times.  Conse- 
quently the  class  notions  are  especially  impressed 


THE   GOAL    OF    INSTRUCTION  59 

upon  the  mind.  But  this  help  of  nature,  or  this 
natural  tendency  to  classify,  is  not  sufficient.  Special 
effort  must  be  made  to  harmonize  and  rightly  group 
our  ideas ;  otherwise  they  will  be  often  contradictory 
to  one  another,  or  poorly  defined  ;  and  those  which 
are  quite  unrelated  will  be  found  in  the  same  group, 
just  as  books  under  widely  varying  titles  may  by 
accident  be  placed  together. 

But  proper  classification  involves  more  than  the 
careful  separation  of  experiences  into  groups ;  it 
involves  the  ranking  of  the  same  according  to  their 
relative  worth.  Some  facts  are  of  far  more  value 
than  others,  just  as  the  officers  of  an  army  are  far 
more  important  than  an  equal  number  of  common 
soldiers.  Unless  one's  generalizations  have  been 
carefully  developed,  one  is  likely  to  overlook  this 
matter  of  relative  worth  and  to  neglect  the  higher 
and  especially  important  notions.  Teachers  who 
have  had  no  professional  training  show  this  ten- 
dency plainly.  Their  minds  are  so  occupied  with 
the  details  of  teaching  that  they  fail  to  distinguish 
more  important  from  less  important  matters,  and  the 
idea  of  supreme  importance,  namely,  the  chief  aim 
of  instruction,  is  the  one  most  neglected  in  their 
daily  thought. 

It  is,  on  the  whole,  the  organization  of  knowledge 
that  is  here  involved.  In  this  age  of  unbounded 
faith  in  the  efficiency  of  organization  in  all  fields, 
the.  organization  of  thoughts  should  not  be  neglected. 


6O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

It  is  the  most  economical  means  of  caring  for  one's 
knowledge.  Ideas  that  exist  in  a  chaotic  state  are 
wasted ;  the  more  valuable  the  collection  of  them, 
the  greater  the  waste.  Until  they  are  assorted  ac- 
cording to  their  essential  characteristics,  and  ranked 
according  to  their  worth,  it  is  impossible  to  retain 
them  in  memory,  to  survey  them  easily,  and  to  find 
them  at  the  moment  of  need.  Since  to  generalize 
means  to  sort  and  rank  notions,  the  reason  is  plain 
why  instruction  should  culminate  in  generalizations. 
HOW  general  There  is  a  fourth  reason  for  regarding  generaliza- 

notions  aid       , .  f  .  T-.,  ,  •. 

the  acquisi-     tions  of  supreme  importance.     They  are  the  means 
tion  of  of  apperceiving  new  experiences  of  any  kind.     It  is 

through  them  that  it  becomes  possible  to  acquire 
knowledge  quickly  and  easily.  Just  as  a  new  book 
readily  finds  its  proper  place  in  a  well-classified 
library,  so  strange  ideas  readily  find  classification  in 
a  mind  whose  contents  have  been  carefully  arranged. 
This  is  seen  in  the  reading  of  books  on  education. 
One  who  approaches  a  pedagogical  work  with  an  or- 
ganized or  systematized  body  of  educational  thought 
has  a  framework  into  which  to  place  the  ideas. 
He  knows  quickly  where  each  idea  belongs,  so 
that  even  if  the  arrangement  of  points  in  the  book 
is  poor,  it  need  not  be  poor  in  the  mind  of  the 
reader.  Also,  as  in  an  army  the  relative  rank  of 
men  can  be  quickly  determined,  so  the  relative 
worth  of  the  many  thoughts  can  be  recognized. 
The  system  of  thought  (or  the  organized  generali- 


THE    GOAL    OF    INSTRUCTION  6 1 

zations)  already  at  hand  is  both  the  framework  in 
which  all  ideas  can  be  pigeonholed,  and  also  the 
standard  according  to  which  their  value  can  be 
measured.  Thus,  the  profit  from  reading,  from 
sight-seeing,  and  from  conversation  is  directly  de- 
pendent upon  the  extent  to  which  one's  ideas  are 
brought  into  order  and  ranked.  It  is  only  through 
classification  that  much  confusion  and  loss  of  time 
in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  can  be  avoided. 
Generalizations  are,  then,  to  the  thinker  what  the 
compass  is  to  the  seaman :  they  enable  him  to  keep 
his  bearings,  to  remain  free  from  confusion  in  new 
regions. 

That  generalizations  play  such  an  important  part 
in  the  acquisition  and  organization  of  knowledge,  sug- 
gests an  important  requirement  bearing  on  the  selec- 
tion of  leading  topics  in  each  study  of  the  school 
course. 

We  are  getting  into  the  way  of  thinking  out  large  HOW  gencr- 

,    .  , .          .  r    .1  IT    alizations  art. 

topics  as  units  of  instruction  in  many  of  the  school  the  basis  for 
studies.      In  reading  and  literature  we  treat  whole  divisionof 

studies  into 

poems,  stories,  and  even  the  longer  masterpieces  as  large  topics, 
units  of  thought.  In  history  we  select  biographical 
stories  and  commanding  topics,  like  the  Puritan  emi- 
gration or  the  growth  of  our  territory,  or  internal 
improvements  as  units  of  instruction.  The  study  of 
geography  and  natural  science  by  types  is  also  a 
distinct  movement  toward  the  use  of  large  units 
of  study. 


62  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

Now  general  notions  afford  an  excellent  basis  for 
division  of  subject-matter  into  large  topics,  as  is  shown 
in  our  two  chapters  of  illustrative  lessons  in  this  book. 
In  each  of  those  examples  the  general  truth  is  what 
gives  connectedness  and  unity  to  the  whole.  For  in- 
stance, the  general  truth,  "  In  unity  is  strength,"  es- 
tablishes a  close  relation,  or  sequence,  among  a  large 
number  of  particular  facts,  and  thus  groups  them  into 
one  large  topic.  Likewise  in  the  Metamorphosis  of 
the  Milkweed  Butterfly,  in  the  Golden  Touch,  in  Min- 
neapolis as  a  Trade  Centre,  and  in  the  Addition  of 
Fractions  there  is  the  same  organization  of  materials 
into  one  large  unit.  So,  in  every  study,  the  entire 
subject-matter  should  be  arranged  in  these  large 
topics ;  that  is,  the  teacher  should  determine  be- 
forehand the  general  truths  to  be  taught,  and  should 
collect  and  arrange  the  details  in  each  case  which 
lead  to  them.  Fortunately,  in  arithmetic  this  has 
already  been  done  completely,  and  each  lesson  con- 
tributes to  some  rule,  apparent  even  to  the  children. 

But  where  this  is  not  done,  miscellaneous  collec- 
tions of  facts  are  made  and  committed  to  memory,  as 
when  children  in  beginning  the  geography  of  New 
England  are  asked  to  learn  a  list  of  products,  as  fol- 
lows :  boots  and  shoes,  granite,  cotton  goods,  lumber, 
firearms,  fish,  paper,  ships,  wooden  ware,  maple 
sugar,  etc.  This  means  disorder  and  confusion. 

The  prime  defect  in  such  cases  lies  in  the  original 
selection  and  arrangement  of  the  subject-matter  with- 


THE   GOAL   OF    INSTRUCTION  63 

out  much  regard  to  controlling  principles.  A  study 
is  looked  upon  as  a  large  accumulation  of  single 
facts,  when  »t  should  be  considered  as  a  series  of 
large  topics,  each  containing  a  general  truth. 

If  we  can  once  get  this  idea  of  large  units  of  in- 
struction, each  determined  and  organized  by  a  cen- 
tral truth,  we  can  more  easily  understand  and  apply 
a  rational  method  of  dealing  with  such  units.  The 
following  chapters  endeavor  to  bring  this  truth  out 
more  fully. 


CHAPTER  V 

DO  GENERALIZATIONS   PRECEDE   OR  FOLLOW  INDI- 
VIDUAL  NOTIONS  ? 

IT  has  been  shown  that  general  truths  are  the  cen- 
tral objects  of  interest  in  instruction.  The  process 
of  acquiring  knowledge  consists  in  securing  an  in- 
sight into  them  and  the  ability  to  apply  them  easily 
in  all  possible  directions.  For  instance,  one  has 
added  much  to  his  knowledge  when  he  has  come 
to  see  clearly  the  single  general  truth  that  the  pres- 
ence of  a  definite  aim  is  the  condition  of  effective 
work  in  any  line ;  the  teacher  may  apply  this  gen- 
eralization first  of  all  to  the  school,  seeking  out  the 
great  purpose  of  instruction ;  then  to  each  branch 
of  study,  and  to  each  recitation ;  finally,  he  may 
apply  it  to  other  spheres  of  activity,  as  to  that  of  the 
lawyer,  of  the  minister,  and  even  to  human  life  as  a 
whole ;  one  may  never  finish  the  application  of  such 
a  broad  truth,  but  knowledge  grows  as  insight  into  it 
and  ability  to  apply  it  are  increased. 

The  inquiry  next  in  place  touches  the  manner  in 
which  generalizations  should  be  reached.  Should 
they  precede  or  follow  the  study  of  individual  no- 

64 


ORDER   OF   GENERAL   AND   INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS      65 

tions  ?  The  first  distinction  between  good  and  bad 
method,  or  the  first  test  of  method,  is  found  in  the 
answer  to  this  question. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  that  primitive  HOW  the  race 
man  began  work  with  an  outfit  of  general  notions.  acquire° 
On  the   contrary,  he  certainly  had  to  discover  the  knowledge- 
simplest  facts  for  himself. 

By  experiment  in  its  childhood  the  race  learned 
that  flint  makes  good  arrowheads,  that  meat  spoils 
quickly  in  warm  weather,  that  the  deer  has  certain 
habits.  Higher  truths  have  been  reached  by  more 
developed  peoples,  but  by  the  same  route.  Very 
slowly  have  the  laws  been  attained  that  pertain  to 
falling  bodies,  to  the  properties  of  gases,  the  pres- 
sure of  air,  etc.  The  data  for  the  same  have  been 
recorded  one  after  another,  and  often  centuries  have 
elapsed  between  the  time  when  the  data  for  a  great 
law  were  recorded  and  the  time  when  the  latter  was 
really  brought  to  light.  In  other  words,  the  prog- 
ress of  the  race  has  been  necessarily  experimental 
and  inductive ;  it  has  reached  the  abstract  or  general 
through  the  concrete  or  individual, 

In  many  respects  the  child  is  an  imitator  of  the  HOW  the 

_  ,  .  -  child  must 

race.  It  is  asserted  by  numerous  eminent  authon-  begjn. 
ties  that  the  chief  stages  in  his  development  corre- 
spond in  a  large  way  with  those  of  the  race.  If 
he  passes  through  the  same  great  culture  epochs 
as  his  ancestors,  it  is  quite  possible,  then,  that  his 
approach  to  general  truths  is  the  same  as  theirs. 


66  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

Herbert  Spencer  is  of  the  opinion  that  this  is  the  case. 
He  says,  in  substance,  that  the  mind  of  humanity, 
placed  in  the  midst  of  phenomena  and  striving  to 
comprehend  them,  has,  after  endless  comparisons, 
speculations,  experiments,  and  theories,  reached  its 
present  knowledge  of  each  subject  by  a  specific 
route ;  that  the  relationship  between  mind  and  phe- 
nomena, it  may  rationally  be  inferred,  is  such  as  to 
prevent  this  knowledge  from  being  reached  by  any 
other  route;  and  that,  as  each  child's  mind  stands 
in  the  same  relationship  to  phenomena  as  that  of 
humanity,  they  can  be  accessible  to  it  only  through 
the  same  route.1 

Aside  from  this  argument,  the  proper  answer  to 
the  question  whether  the  statement  of  generaliza- 
tions should  precede  or  follow  the  study  of  individ- 
ual notions,  seems  almost  self-evident  from  the 
discussion  in  the  previous  chapter. 
Another  Since  concepts  or  general  truths  can  be  drawn 

reason  why  .       .  •     j  •    •  j       i    •  -^ 

concepts        onv  from  percepts  or  individual  instances,  it  seems 
should  follow  necessary  that  these  latter  should  be  presented  and 

percepts. 

discussed  before  the  former  are  deduced  and  worded. 
Just  as  the  acorn  must  be  present  before  the  oak 
can  be  produced,  so  the  concrete  example  must  pre- 
cede the  abstract  rule ;  in  both  cases  growth  is  in- 
volved :  in  the  one  instance  it  is  a  material  growth, 
in  the  other  a  psychological  one.  One  might  as 
well  expect  noise  without  vibrations  as  generaliza- 
1  "Education,". Chapter  II. 


ORDER    OF    GENERAL    AND    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS     6j 

tions  without  particulars.  And  the  order  in  which 
individual  and  general  notions  are  produced  should 
fully  determine  the  order  in  which  they  should  be 
studied  by  children.  To  think  them  out  clearly 
means  indeed  to  produce  them. 

General  truths  are  not  a  finished  product  that  can 
be  handed  about  from  person  to  person,  examined 
and  traced  back  to  their  origin.  Each  man,  in  order 
to  have  them  really,  must  give  birth  to  them  within 
his  own  mind,  and  they  must  be  born  out  of  the  indi 
vidual  notions  that  are  already  there  present.  "  The 
general  notion  is  not  a  new  mental  product  existing 
apart  from  and  outside  of  the  concrete  notions,  but 
it  is  thought  out  each  time,  inasmuch  as  a  person 
from  among  the  numerous  ideas  of  the  same  kind 
.  .  .  lifts  exclusively  the  essential  characteristics 
into  the  centre  of  consciousness  and  endeavors  to 
isolate  them  from  the  others  which  recede  or  with- 
draw." It  is  not,  therefore,  the  business  of  the 
teacher  to  retail  ready-made  general  notions.  Gen- 
eral truths  should  be  tatight  after  individuals ;  that  is 
the  proper  sequence. 

Yet  the   world   has   for    ages   allowed   the   other  why  general 

r    truths  are 

order,   and  probably  to-day   the   great    majority   of  often  pre- 
teachers  present   first   the   rule,  then   the   example.   sented  first 
Almost  all  text-books  were  modelled  after  this  plan 
until  very  recent  years ;   gradually,  now,  books  fol- 
lowing the  inductive  method   are   being  introduced 
into  the  schools.     One  explanation  of  this  error  is 


68  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

that  it  seems  to  the  instructor  much  easier  to  teach 
in  this  way.  It  requires  great  energy  to  collect  a 
large  number  of  facts,  and  then  so  to  arrange  and 
compare  them  as  to  lead  to  an  important  law  or 
truth.  And  especially  does  it  require  great  energy 
to  keep  this  course  up.  No  wonder,  then,  that  it 
has  not  been  usually  done.  If  we  want  children  to 
comprehend  and  learn  important  principles,  why  not 
give  them  these  latter  outright  ?  Or,  still  better,  why 
not  give  them  these  together  with  a  few  examples  — 
then  the  result  is  assured.  So  teachers  reason,  and 
so  they  act,  thus  obeying  the  universal  desire  to 
avoid  work.  Another  reason  for  this  short-sighted- 
ness is  found  in  the  desire  to  save  time.  It  is  a  very 
slow  process  to  approach  broad  truths  inductively. 
It  seems  a  much  shorter,  simpler  route  to  learning  to 
offer  rules  outright  and  have  them  committed  to 
memory  with  a  few  illustrations. 

Butiaborand  However,  this  inverted  order  means  a  loss  rather 
ost  than  a  saving  of  time  and  labor.  For  instance,  when 
children  begin  mode  in  grammar  by  learning  that  it  is 
"  the  manner  in  which  the  action,  being,  or  state  ex- 
pressed by  the  verb  is  stated  or  conceived,"  time  is 
lost,  because  these  are  mere  empty  words  until  the 
pupils  have  been  made  conscious,  through  numerous 
examples,  that  there  are  several  ways  of  conceiving 
action,  being,  and  state.  Usually,  although  children 
have  been  comprehending  and  speaking  their  mother- 
tongue  for  many  years  before  this  definition  is 


ORDER    OF    GENERAL   AND    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS     69 

reached  in  school,  they  have  reflected  so  little  upon 
their  own  speech  that  they  are  ignorant  of  the  exist- 
ence of  several  modes.  It  would  require  considerable 
time  to  reach  back  into  their  experiences  and  collect 
enough  instances  in  which  action,  being,  and  state 
have  been  differently  conceived,  to  convince  them 
that  this  definition  pertained  to  their  own  lives  or 
had  any  worth  for  them.  Consequently,  when  they 
learn  it  first,  they  get  empty  words  and  not  a  thought. 
—  The  same  thing  is  true  in  geography  when  defini- 
tions of  mountain,  plateau,  etc.,  are  given  before  par- 
ticular mountains,  plateaus,  etc.,  have  been  studied. 
The  emphasis  now  laid  upon  home  geography  is 
partly  caused  by  belief  in  inductive  work.  One  can- 
not always  visit  a  mountain,  plateau,  etc.,  but  he  can 
study  one  or  several  of  these  objects  in  detail  before 
receiving  a  definition  of  the  same. — No  time  is  saved 
by  presenting  the  rule  for  division  of  fractions,  or  the 
definition  of  specific  gravity,  before  numerous  con- 
crete examples  have  been  carefully  examined.  In  all 
cases,  whatever  labor  and  time  are  spent  in  pretend- 
ing to  understand  what  one  does  not  and,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  cannot  understand,  are  entirely 
lost. 

But  there  is  more  than  a  loss  of  labor  and  time  in  Also  danger 
giving  the  generalization  first,  for  children  are  there-  ° 
by  forced  to  approach  a  subject  from  the  least  attrac- 
tive side.     They  are  called  upon  to  master  the  words 
for  a  thought  that  is  not  expected  to  be  understood 


7O  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

till  later.  Just  as  it  is  injudicious  for  men  and 
women  to  present  their  least  agreeable  side  to 
strangers,  so  it  is  unpedagogical  to  introduce  chil- 
dren to  topics  in  a  way  that  least  appeals  to  their 
past  experiences  and  interests.  When  the  rule  is 
placed  in  front  they  are  necessarily  reminded  of 
their  weakness  rather  than  of  their  strength,  and  an 
unfriendly  feeling  is  engendered  toward  the  subject 
in  hand.  Consequently  not  only  are  labor  and  time 
lost,  but  children  are  repelled  by  such  instruction. 
An  apparent  But  many  eminent  men  have  been  educated  in  just 
explained.  tn^s  way>  and  it  often  happens  that  general  truths  are 
immediately  comprehended  on  presentation.  Is  it 
entirely  in  vain,  therefore,  that  rules  are  offered  di- 
rectly, with  the  hope  of  abridging  the  process  of 
acquiring  knowledge? 

If  it  be  true,  as  was  asserted,  that  generalizations 
arise  in  only  a  single  way,  that  they  have  their  origin 
solely  in  individual  notions,  then  there  is  only  one 
possible  way  of  approaching  them.  The  fact  that 
they  are  at  times  fully  understood  as  soon  as  heard, 
is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  In  such  cases  past  life 
has  happened  to  furnish  enough  individual  experi- 
ences, and  these  are  sufficiently  present  in  conscious- 
ness to  give  a  meaning  to  the  words  that  are  heard. 
The  reason  that  the  words  are  comprehended  is  that 
the  truth  has  already  been  reached  inductively,  and 
it  is  now  simply  being  worded.  Now  and  then,  too, 
where  past  experience  bears  apparently  little  relation 


to  some  general  statement,  a  person  shows  strange 
power  to  reproduce  and  mass  data  that  can  explain  it. 
But  that  is  the  privilege  of  only  an  unusually  quick 
mind,  and  is  no  exception  to  the  psychological  law. 
Even  in  such  cases,  unless  the  supposed  generaliza- 
tions are  merely  reviews  or  applications  of  truths 
developed  in  the  past,  they  are  still  in  reality  ap- 
proached inductively :  the  words  are  empty,  or  carry 
only  a  doubtful  meaning,  until  facts  are  called  to  mind 
which  form  a  basis  for  drawing  the  desired  conclu- 
sion; light  is  then  shed  upon  them,  or  they  are  given  a 
content.  The  statement  of  the  general  truth  first  is, 
therefore,  merely  a  challenge  to  hunt  up  the  data  that 
prove  the  truth.  With  trained  adults  acquainted  with 
the  subject,  and  with  very  bright  minds,  the  challenge 
is  received  joyfully,  and  activity  follows  that  results 
in  clear  insight. 

But  that  does  not  happen  in  ordinary  instruction. 
Usually  the  generalizations  that  the  school  should 
teach  are  too  far  in  advance  of  the  child's  or  youth's 
knowledge  to  be  understood  at  a  glance ;  or  even  if 
his  past  experience  actually  contains  all  of  the  con- 
crete facts  required,  they  are  so  scattered  and  so  far 
removed  from  consciousness  when  needed  that  they 
are  practically  wanting.  Then  this  pleasant  chal- 
lenge is  converted  into  a  disagreeable  command;  it 
is  a  circumlocution  in  method  that  causes  loss  of  time 
and  destruction  of  interest. 

The  conclusion  is  therefore  reached,  that  the  only 


72  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

wise  course  is  to  bring  together  or  present  concrete 
notions  in  advance  of  the  rules  which  they  would 
teach.  Accordingly,  the  statement  of  the  rule  for 
addition  of  fractions  should  follow  the  solution  of 
several  examples  involving  addition ;  the  law  for  the 
metamorphosis  of  insects  should  follow  the  study  in 
detail  of  one  or  more  types  of  insects;  likewise  the 
definition  of  trade-centre,  the  underlying  truth  in  the 
Golden  Touch,  and  the  proverb  in  regard  to  unity 
should  all  come  after  the  concrete  data.  The  second 
presentation  of  each  of  these  general  truths,  as  out- 
lined in  Chapter  II,  illustrates  how  this  might  be 
planned. 

With  this  important  conclusion  established,  it  is 
possible  to  distinguish  the  outline  of  method.  There 
are  three  great  topics  to  be  kept  in  mind;  namely, 
individual  notions,  general  notions,  and  the  applica- 
tion of  general  notions.  There  are  no  others,  because 
these  three  cover  the  entire  circuit ;  there  is  no  part 
of  instruction  that  can  fall  outside  of  them. 

From  what  has  immediately  preceded,  these  three 
topics  must  be  treated  in  the  order  mentioned;  i.e. 
first,  individual  notions  must  be  taught,  then  progress 
should  be  made  from  the  individuals  to  the  generals, 
then  these  latter  should  be  applied.  This  necessary 
order  constitutes  the  first  great  law  of  method. 

And  since  all  mistakes  in  method  of  teaching  can 
be  made  only  in  one  of  these  three  fields,  there  are 
naturally  three  leading  questions  in  method :  — 


ORDER    OF    GENERAL   AND    INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS     7$ 

1.  How  should  individual  notions  be  acquired? 

2.  How  should  progress  be  made  from  individual 
to  general  notions  ? 

3.  How  should  general  notions  be  applied? 

If  there  is  a  necessary  way  of  acquiring  individual 
notions,  and  also  of  passing  from  individuals  to  gen- 
erals, then,  besides  the  great  law  of  method  already 
mentioned,  i.e.  induction,  other  laws  may  be  estab- 
lished which  will  prove  of  great  value. 

It  is  our  next  duty  to  discuss  the  first  of  these 
three  questions.  And  as  the  acquisition  of  individ- 
ual notions  requires  the  consideration  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  topics,  the  problem  will  be  divided  into  two 
parts  or  chapters  :  first,  how  individual  notions  should 
be  prepared  for  or  approached ;  second,  how  they 
should  be  presented. 


CHAPTER  VI 

HOW  INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS   SHOULD    BE   APPROACHED 

WE  have  already  discussed  the  nature  of  individ- 
ual notions  in  distinguishing  them  from  general  no- 
tions, and  have  seen  that  they  are  identical  with 
percepts  or  concrete  notions.  A  large  number  of  such 
notions  are  acquired  during  the  first  years  of  life  by 
direct  contact  with  individual  things.  Children  see, 
handle,  taste,  smell,  etc.,  and  thus  receive  their  first 
impressions.  They  also  perceive  individual  events 
and  relationships.  The  birds  in  their  neighborhood 
build  their  nests  and  rear  their  young ;  their  favorite 
trees  blossom  and  bear  fruit ;  the  seeds  of  certain 
flowers  are  found  to  be  transported  in  all  directions 
by  the  wind  and  often  by  animals ;  the  cold  weather 
causes  the  village  pond  to  freeze  over,  and  certain 
vessels  containing  water  to  burst.  The  intercourse  of 
men  with  one  another  is  likewise  noted ;  one  speaks 
angrily  with  another ;  two  are  observed  to  be  united 
by  the  bond  of  friendship ;  some  perform  many  kind 
acts,  while  others  seem  to  be  guided  by  certain  ig- 
noble motives,  etc.  All  such  things  and  many  more 
are  perceived,  and  leave  impressions  called  individual 
notions. 

74 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS  75 

This  process  of  learning  by  direct  experience  con- 
tinues throughout  life.  But  if  a  person  is  left  en- 
tirely to  himself  in  acquiring  knowledge,  he  is  likely 
to  make  serious  mistakes  in  even  the  simplest  obser- 
vations, and  to  be  very  superficial.  One  sees  birds  Extent  of 
daily,  but  it  is  rarely  the  case  that  he  can  describe 


common  birds  accurately  ;  favorite  shade  trees  that  experience. 

line  our  streets,  as  the  elm  and  the  maple,  are  scarcely 

seen,  although  we  almost  touch  them  every  day;  few 

can  tell  when  they  bear  flowers  and  seeds,  or  whether 

they  bear  them  at  all,  or  not.     Many  persons  cannot 

even  tell  the  color  of  the  eyes  of  their  friends  and 

daily  companions.      Carelessness  in  the  observation 

of  common  events  is  just  as  striking  :  we  fail  to  note 

the  direction  of  the  wind  and  the  habits  of  animals  ; 

few  can  tell  how  a  cow  lies  down  or  how  a  horse  gets 

up.     This  inability  to  see  correctly,  or  to  see  at  all, 

is  shown  in  a  practicaj.  way  in  the  courtroom  by  the 

failure  of  eye-witnesses  of  objects  and  events  to  agree 

as  to  what  was  seen. 

It  is  the  mission  of  the  school,  so  far  as  it  can,  to  HOW  the 

school  sup- 
correct  and  widen  such  observation.     But  there  are  piemems  this 

many  individual  objects  of  study  that  cannot  be  exPenence- 
brought  before  the  senses  of  children,  and  instruction 
must  deal  with  these  also  as  best  it  can.  For  exam- 
ple, many  geographical  and  historical  objects  which 
are  distant  in  place  or  time  still  need  to  be  sharply 
grasped  by  the  children.  Famous  scenes  in  history, 
interesting  and  picturesque  places  in  geography,  need 


76  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

to  be  presented  definitely  to  the  mind.  Pictures, 
drawings,  famous  paintings,  photographic  views  of 
notable  buildings,  churches,  monuments,  etc.,  are  in- 
dispensable for  giving  correct  notions  of  individual 
things.  The  teacher  may  also  use  diagrams,  and 
simple  plans  and  sketches  on  the  blackboard,  not 
only  to  explain  forts,  cities,  battles,  journeys,  cam- 
paigns, voyages,  etc.,  but  also  to  make  plain  particular 
processes  in  the  industries,  machines,  and  inventions, 
devices  for  overcoming  difficulties,  experiments  in 
natural  science,  the  movements  of  planets  in  the 
solar  system,  and  many  similar  particulars.  The 
children  also  should  use  these  same  graphic  means 
of  expressing  their  thought,  and  thus  become  more 
clearly  acquainted  with  the  facts. 

Even  in  natural  science,  which  is  primarily  a  study 
of  things  present  to  the  senses,  there  are  many 
objects  and  particulars,  at  home  and  abroad,  which 
can  best  be  shown  by  skilful  devices  and  graphic 
diagram :  such  as  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  life 
processes  in  plant  and  animal,  chemical  and  physical 
changes  and  forces,  microscopic  life  and  changes  as 
touched  upon  in  grammar  grades,  geological  strata, 
mathematical  geography,  and  many  other  examples 
in  science.  A  large  portion  of  the  time  given  to 
elementary  branches  must  be  devoted  to  the  study  of 
these  objects  of  sense,  either  present  or  absent 

But  it  is  evident  that  instruction  which  deals  with 
these  distant  objects  is  subject  to  even  more  frequent 


THE   APPROACH   TO    INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS  // 

errors  than  is  the  study  of  objects  present  to  the 
senses.  The  first  great  source  of  error,  therefore,  is 
found  in  the  faultiness  of  this  original  raw  material 
of  knowledge,  the  sense-percepts. 

The  second  and  perhaps  still   more  troublesome  Why  the 

f  f          i    •      ii        7  -,.1        i  •   i     teacher  must 

source  of  error  is  found  in  the  language  with  which  regard  words 
we  try  to  express  or  convey  knowledge.  Language  is  with.  . 
indispensable  to  thought,  and  yet  when  carelessly 
used  it  is  a  prolific  source  of  confusion.  For  words 
are  but  the  arbitrary  symbols  of  knowledge  and  in 
themselves  mean  nothing.  The  words  that  we  see 
or  hear  sometimes  mean  little  or  nothing  to  us,  some- 
times they  suggest  a  wrong  notion  or  one  different 
from  that  intended  by  the  speaker  or  writer.  Seldom 
does  a  word  mean  exactly  the  same  to  two  different 
persons.  And  yet,  since  not  only  the  geographical 
and  historical  events,  but  even  the  objects  studied, 
cannot  usually  be  present  to  the  senses,  instruction 
must  depend  mainly  upon  these  faulty  instruments 
to  build  up  new  and  correct  mental  images.  What 
a  wide  door  is  here  opened  for  misconception  and 
error  in  the  use  of  language ! 

Now  instead  of  sharply  noticing  the  sources  of 
error  in  the  use  of  words  and  of  pressing  back  of 
them  to  the  original  objects  and  facts  themselves, 
teachers  have  often  made  the  surprising  mistake  of 
thinking  that  bare  words  have  a  peculiar  power  for 
directly  conveying  knowledge,  that  a  mere  word  is 
the  equivalent  of  an  idea,  and  that  verbal  descriptions 


78  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

of  objects  and  events  can  build  up  in  children's 
minds  vivid  and  correct  mental  pictures.  This  view 
of  teaching  made  instruction  an  apparently  simple 
and  easy  matter.  Any  one  could  teach  who  could 
govern  a  school,  who  possessed  the  necessary  knowl- 
edge, and  who  had  a  good  command  of  language. 

But  the  modern  understanding  declares  teaching  to 
be  by  no  means  so  easy  or  mechanical;  there  are  sev- 
eral important  conditions  to  be  fulfilled  before  facts 
communicated  by  words  can  result  in  real  knowledge, 
and  it  is  the  observance  of  these  that  makes  teaching 
a  difficult  process. 

One  of  these  conditions  that  is  essential  is  sug- 
gested by  a  story  that  Rousseau  relates  in  his  "  Emile." 
He  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  spend  a  few  days 
at  the  country  home  of  a  woman  of  rank  who  was 
much  interested  in  the  education  of  her  children, 
and  he  happened  one  morning  to  be  present  in  a 
history  recitation  conducted  by  a  private  tutor  with 
the  eldest  boy.  The  topic  under  discussion  was  the 
well-known  story  of  Alexander  and  his  physician, 
Philip.  It  was  related  how  the  former  was  warned 
by  friends  that  Philip  was  untrue  to  him  and  was 
awaiting  an  opportunity  to  give  him  poison ;  and 
that,  nevertheless,  when  in  need  of  medicine,  Alex- 
ander took  the  proffered  goblet  and  drank  its  con- 
tents without  hesitation.  At  dinner  the  child  was 
called  upon  to  relate  the  narrative,  and  did  so  amidst 
much  applause.  There  then  followed  some  discus' 


THE   APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS  79 

sion  of  its  merits.  The  majority  of  the  guests 
present  agreed  that  Alexander  was  very  rash,  while 
some,  among  whom  were  the  tutor  and  the  boy, 
greatly  admired  his  bravery.  This  was  enough  to 
convince  Rousseau  that  none  of  them  had  a  proper 
appreciation  of  the  real  greatness  of  Alexander's 
act.  It  was  to  him  first  of  all  a  profession  of  faith 
in  mankind.  Alexander  believed  in  human  virtue; 
he  had  faith  in  his  friends,  even  to  the  extent  of 
putting  his  life  in  their  hands. 

But  the  great  educator  was  particularly  interested 
in  the  interpretation  which  the  boy  might  put  upon 
the  story ;  accordingly,  at  the  first  opportunity  after 
dinner,  the  two  took  a  stroll  together  through  the 
park.  Rousseau  had  already  come  to  suspect,  from 
several  signs,  that  the  boy  had  no  correct  compre- 
hension of  the  story  which  he  had  related  so  beauti- 
fully. He  therefore  questioned  him  at  his  ease 
and  found  that  he,  more  even  than  his  instructor  or 
any  of  the  guests,  was  an  admirer  of  the  courage 
that  Alexander  had  displayed.  "  But,"  proceeds 
Rousseau,  "do  you  know  wherein  he  saw  this  cour- 
age ?  Solely  in  the  act  of  swallowing  a  bitter-tast- 
ing potion  without  hesitation  and  without  showing 
the  least  repugnance.  The  poor  child  who,  less 
than  two  weeks  before,  had  been  required  to  take 
some  medicine  and  had  found  it  extremely  difficult, 
had  still  the  after-taste  of  medicine  in  his  mouth. 
To  him  death  and  poisoning  meant  only  disagreeable 


8O  METHOD   OF    RECITATION 

sensations,  and  he  could  conceive  of  no  poison  more 
disagreeable  than  his  own  drug.  However,  I  must 
confess  that  the  courage  of  this  hero  had  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  his  young  mind,  and  he  had 
firmly  resolved  to  be  brave  like  Alexander  the  next 
time  it  might  be  necessary  for  him  to  swallow  such 
a  draught." 

Here  we  have  a  simple  narrative  interpreted  in 
four  different  ways,  and  it  is  easy  to  determine  the 
cause.  The  taking  of  medicine  being  an  important 
incident  in  the  anecdote,  and  the  boy's  experiences 
along  this  line  being  recent  and  vivid,  he  made  out 
its  meaning  through  their  help.  The  tutor,  also, 
saw  bravery  in  Alexander's  act,  but  of  a  different, 
more  soldier-like  quality. 

The  majority  of  the  guests  considered  Alexander 
very  rash,  because  they  called  to  mind,  in  interpreting 
the  deed,  past  experiences  that  were  only  superficially 
related  to  it,  while  Rousseau,  being  a  man  who  had 
learned  to  appreciate  the  beautiful  and  noble,  had 
apperceiving  feelings  which  led  him  to  class  this 
among  the  noblest  acts  of  man.  This  is  proof  that 
the  mere  recital  of  words  gives  no  guarantee  of  a 
correct  interpretation.  Further  than  that,  we  see 
that  it  is  the  past  that  conditions  the  present;  it  is 
our  Past  ideas'  feelings>  habits,  etc.,  that  interpret 
the  new  experiences  which  are  offered  us.  This 
fact  is  seen  in  the  varying  impressions  that  the 
members  of  an  audience  carry  away  from  a  lecture 


THE   APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS          8  1 

which  all  have  had  an  equal  opportunity  to  hear. 
It  is  seldom  that  a  simple  announcement  to  the  sev- 
eral hundred  students  in  a  normal  school  is  under- 
stood in  the  same  way  by  all  present.  In  such  cases 
the  difference  in  interpretation  cannot  be  due  to  a 
difference  in  what  is  heard,  for  all  hear  exactly  the 
same  words  ;  it  must  be  due,  therefore,  to  differences 
in  those  that  listen;  according  to  the  thoughts  that 
are  uppermost  in  their  minds  they  get  meaning  from 
the  words  that  are  uttered.  It  is  clear,  then,  that 
we  "proceed  from  the  known  to  the  unknown"  in 
learning,  or  that  we  "get  out  of  a  thing  what  we 
put  into  it."  This  is  probably  the  most  important 
of  all  the  principles  of  teaching,  and  is  commonly 
called  the  principle  of  apperception. 

There  are  two  considerations  which  must  be  con- 
tinually kept  in  mind  if  this  great  law  shall  be  suc- 
cessfully applied  by  the  teacher  :  — 

First,  any  new  knowledge  offered  to  a  child  must  First  condi- 
be  met  by  old  ideas  closely  related  to  it  if  it  is  to  be 


well  comprehended  and  appreciated.     A  child  who  of  principle 

of  appercep- 

has  been  blind  from  birth,  and  whose  sole  means  tion. 
of  discovering  the  presence  and  quality  of  objects  is 
through  the  sense  of  touch,  cannot  comprehend  how 
•an  ordinary  person  can  know  that  there  is  a  horse 
down  the  street  ;  it  is  necessary  for  the  blind  child 
to  go  and  place  his  hands  upon  the  animal  to  de- 
termine where  and  what  it  is.  Also,  having  no  ap- 
preciation of  color,  he  is  unable  to  distinguish  what 


82  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

things  have  that  characteristic,  or  to  see  anything 
inappropriate  in  the  question,  What  is  the  color  of 
the  days  of  the  week  ?  One  child  to  whom  this 
query  was  put,  very  naturally  replied  that  they 
were  probably  blue,  for  he  had  heard  people  speak 
of  "  blue  Monday " ;  another  likened  red  to  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet.  Thus  the  absence  of  a  cer- 
tain class  of  experiences  prevents  the  possibility  of 
interpreting  ideas  belonging  to  that  class. 

The  majority  of  men  would  learn  almost  as  little 
from  a  lecture  on  calculus  as  the  blind  boy  from  one 
on  color.  But  as  things  begin  to  come  within  our 
range  of  knowledge  and  interests,  they  begin  to 
carry  meaning.  The  wild  Indian  on  the  western 
plains  would  appreciate  the  sight  .of  a  man  climb- 
ing a  telegraph  pole  in  modern  fashion,  for  he  does 
enough  climbing  himself  to  realize  that  it  is  no  easy 
task  to  go  up  a  smooth  pole.  Still,  there  is  such  a 
wide  chasm  between  his  daily  thoughts  and  most 
modern  inventions,  that  he  would  be  unlikely  to 
have  much  regard  for  a  steam-engine.  The  school- 
boy who  reads  about  the  threefold  division  of  so- 
ciety in  European  countries  is  confronted  by  much 
the  same  difficulty;  his  environment  being  usually 
his  sole  source  of  help,  he  attempts  to  divide  his 
own  little  community  into  three  strata,  according 
to  the  description.  In  this  country  the  attempt 
necessarily  meets  with  failure,  and  consequently  the 
thought  has  little  force.  Thus,  in  applying  the  law 


THE    APPROACH   TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS          83 

that  new  knowledge  can  be  acquired  solely  through 
the  old,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  relationship 
between  the  new  and  the  old  must  be  very  close,  if 
the  former  is  to  be  well  comprehended  and  ap- 
preciated. 

The  second  consideration  is  just  as  important  as  A  second 
the  first  in  influencing  the  method  of  teaching ;  it  is  ° 
that  any  one  must  be  fully  conscious  of  this  close  con- 
nection between  the  known  and  that  which  is  yet  to 
be  learned.  If  this  consciousness  is  lacking,  the 
two  are  practically  disconnected,  no  matter  how 
close  their  real  kinship  may  be.  We  often  meet 
old  friends  and  regard  them  as  strangers,  and  this 
happened  so  regularly  in  the  schoolroom  that  it 
would  be  difficult  to  accomplish  it  more  cer- 
tainly. 

For  instance,  children  are  not  expected  to  dis- 
tinguish the  grammatical  subject  and  predicate  of  sen- 
tences before  the  eleventh  year  of  age.  But  they 
have  been  speaking  English  nine  or  ten  years,  and 
understanding  it  fully  as  long.  Of  course,  then,  they 
know  "what  they  are  speaking  about"  when  they 
utter  their  thoughts,  and  they  know  well,  too,  what 
they  say  about  their  topics  of  conversation.  They 
understand  their  mothers  and  their  friends  just  as 
well  as  themselves.  Any  child,  then,  has  had  daily  . 
practice  for  ten  years  in  distinguishing  "subject" 
and  "predicate,"  and  has  become  quite  an  adept 
at  it  before  he  is  required  to  study  such  matter  in 


84  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

school.  What  teachers  need  to  do  is  to  remind  him 
of  this  abundant  experience  and  show  him  that,  while 
he  knows  a  great  deal  about  this  topic,  there  are 
many  things  yet  to  learn ;  he  is  then  ready  for  work. 
But,  alas!  What  is  usually  done?  Without  refer- 
ence to  the  past,  words  are  repeated  and  drilled  upon 
until  children  are  fully  convinced  that  subjects  and 
predicates  are  far  from  their  daily  needs,  and  in  de- 
spair they  declare  prepositions,  adjectives,  conjunc- 
tions, etc.,  to  be  subject  or  predicate,  according  as 
they  think  they  can  best  please  their  instructors. 
Mode  is  surrounded  with  the  same  strange  atmos- 
phere. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  children  are  actu- 
ally using  all  of  the  modes  continually;  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  they  have  already  been  introduced 
to  two  of  them  in  the  primary ;  namely,  the  indicative 
and  imperative,  under  the  guise  of  telling  and  com- 
manding sentences ;  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they 
are  already  acquainted  with  both  words,  mode  and 
mood(w$>  in  fashion  journals,  "mode"  of  doing  this 
and  that,  "  pleasant  mood,"  etc.),  the  topic  is  so  taught 
that  both  the  words  and  ideas  seem  never  to  have 
been  heard  before,  or  to  have  no  bearing  upon  daily 
living. 

Many  a  teacher  of  Homer  or  Virgil  confuses  his 
pupils  for  weeks  by  talk  about  scansion,  quantity, 
feet,  and  accent.  High  school  students  may  become 
fully  lost  in  such  work,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that, 
even  as  babes,  they  greatly  enjoyed  the  rhythm  of 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS  85 

Mother  Goose,  and  the  regularity  of  accent  found 
later  in  poetry  for  children.  If  high  school  profes- 
sors would  only  establish  the  conviction  in  the  minds 
of  their  students  that  this  subject  of  scansion  is  a 
very  familiar  one,  and  even  that  a  principal  difficulty 
in  reading  in  the  primary  grades  is  the  tendency  to 
scan  or  sing  the  poetry  read,  this  whole  subject  would 
be  greatly  simplified. 

It  is  strange  how  topics  that  have  been  thoroughly 
and  even  easily  mastered  in  one  study  may  appear 
difficult  when  broached  in  a  very  different  study. 
The  matter  of  exponents  is  an  example  in  point.  In 
arithmetic,  without  any  special  effort,  children  com- 
prehend that  the  square  of  two,  multiplied  by  the 
cube  of  two,  equals  the  fifth  power  of  two,  and  that 
the  cube  of  three,  multiplied  by  the  cube  of  three, 
equals  the  sixth  power  of  three.  It  could  not  be 
otherwise.  Examples  are  frequently  given  by  the 
teacher  bearing  upon  this  point,  and  seldom  or  never 
do  pupils  trip  upon  it.  But  how  different  in  algebra ! 
Exponents  are  there  the  bane  of  the  student.  In 
spite  of  the  fact  that  high  school  classes  are  drilled 
continually  upon  the  rules  pertaining  to  this  subject, 
and  are  given  abundant  practice  in  application,  from 
my  own  experience  in  examining  twenty-five  high 
schools  in  Illinois  three  out  of  five  students  will 
declare  that  the  square  of  A,  multiplied  by  the  cube 
of  A,  equals  the  sixth  power  of  A.  What  a  quantity 
of  effort  might  be  saved  if,  in  approaching  this  topic 


86  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

the  first  time,  the  related  facts  in  arithmetic  were 
called  to  mind  and  made  the  basis  for  the  study  of 
exponents. 

The  fact  should  be  emphasized  that,  though  chil- 
dren are  familiar  with  a  certain  object  and  have  seen 
it  often,  yet  if  they  believe  the  contrary,  the  con- 
trary might  as  well  be  true,  so  far  as  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge  is  concerned.  For  instance,  I  once 
knew  of  a  room  of  forty  fourth-grade  and  fifth-grade 
children  in  which  nearly  all  asserted  that  they  had 
never  seen  a  valley.  Of  course,  under  those  circum- 
stances, they  could  not  be  expected  to  feel  at  home 
in  the  study  of  valleys.  Yet  it  was  soon  discovered 
that  every  child  had  travelled  upon  the  railroad;  that 
he  remembered  having  crossed  several  bridges  ;  that 
water  was  seen  underneath.  There  was  even  a  small 
stream  in  that  town  which  the  children  had  often 
crossed  on  a  bridge.  Of  course,  then,  they  had  seen 
valleys  ;  and  those  which  they  had  seen  should  cer- 
tainly have  formed  the  introduction  to  the  discussion 
of  this  subject. 

Feelings  also       The  principle  here  involved  applies  as  much  to  the 
appreciation  of  feelings  as  to  the  appreciation  of  ideas. 


feelings.         Take,  for  example,  the  first  three  stanzas  of  Gray's 
*  Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard  "  :  — 

"  The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day  ; 

The  lowing  herd  wind  slowly  o'er  the  lea  ; 
The  ploughman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way, 
And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness  and  to  me. 


THE    APPROACH   TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS          8? 

"  Now  fades  the  glimmering  landscape  on  the  sight, 

And  all  the  air  a  solemn  stillness  holds, 
Save  where  the  beetle  wheels  his  droning  flight, 
And  drowsy  tinklings  lull  the  distant  folds ; 

"  Save  that  from  yonder  ivy-mantled  tower 

The  moping  owl  does  to  the  moon  complain 
Of  such  as,  wandering  near  her  secret  bower, 
Molest  her  ancient,  solitary  reign." 

The  thought  here  is  so  simple  that  it  can  be  easily 
comprehended  and  still  leave  little  trace  of  itself  in 
the  minds  or  hearts  of  pupils.  This  poetry  is  first  of 
all  an  appeal  to  the  emotions,  and  certain  past  feel- 
ings must  be  present  in  consciousness  before  it  can 
be  properly  appreciated.  As  one  recalls  his  pensive 
attitude  on  some  well-remembered  summer  evening 
when,  in  the  gloaming,  he  observed  the  cattle  and 
the  workmen  winding  their  ways  homeward,  when 
darkness  gradually  shut  away  the  outer  world  and 
produced  a  feeling  of  loneliness,  when  the  noisy 
world  grew  quiet  and  only  the  buzzing  of  insects  and 
the  tinkling  of  bells  could  be  occasionally  heard,  then, 
as  these  pictures  and  the  accompanying  feelings  are 
vividly  reproduced,  is  one  in  the  right  frame  of  mind 
for  such  a  poem.  Boys  and  girls  must  recall  definite 
times  in  their  lives  when  they  enjoyed  such  reflec- 
tions as  these,  and  their  feelings  on  those  occasions 
must  be  reproduced  before  they  will  be  able  to  enter 
into  the  spirit  of  these  stanzas. 

This  poem  is  a  type  of  many  subjects  of  instruc- 


88  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

tion.  In  Sunday-school  work,  in  prose  literature,  in 
history,  in  nature  study,  and  in  art,  real  appreciation 
often  involves  much  more  than  the  mere  comprehen- 
sion of  the  facts  or  statements ;  new  feelings  are  to 
be  aroused,  and  in  that  case  the  past  related  emo- 
tions should  be  recalled  and  renewed  before  a  proper 
means  for  arousing  new  emotions  can  be  considered 
to  be  at  hand.  We  state  the  same  general  thought 
in  other  words  when  we  say  that  feelings  or  moods 
are  a  great  factor  in  education.  The  business  man 
appreciates  them.  Like  the  teacher,  he  is  attempt- 
ing to  influence  customers  by  the  ideas  he  presents, 
and,  if  he  is  skilful,  he  is  very  careful  to  broach  a 
matter  "  at  the  proper  time,"  i.e.  when  his  listener  is 
in  the  mood  for  it.  If  the  right  mood  is  not  present, 
he  postpones  his  business  discussion  until  a  more 
fitting  time,  or  seeks  to  bring  it  about  by  introducing 
other  topics  of  conversation  for  a  period. 

The  child  recognizes  the  same  important  principles 
of  action  in  dealing  with  his  parents.  Even  the 
infant  is  often  too  wise  to  ask  a  favor  abruptly  of 
his  mother  if  he  suspects  it  is  likely  to  be  refused ; 
he  cajoles  her  rather,  until  he  thinks  she  is  in  the 
humor  to  grant  his  request,  then  he  presents  it. 
Children  in  school  often  exhibit  the  same  tact  toward 
their  teachers ;  they  study  the  latter  closely  and  vary 
their  words  and  conduct  according  to  the  mood  that 
prevails  at  the  time.  If  instinct  teaches  business 
men  and  children  to  regard  moods  as  highly  impor' 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS  89 

tant  in  all  attempts  to  influence  other  people,  why 
should  not  teachers  obey  the  same  impulse  and  be  at 
least  as  pedagogical  as  these  uninitiated  ones  ?  If 
they  did  so,  they  would  feel  their  way  cautiously  into 
many  a  subject  where  now  they  rush  upon  it  abruptly. 

From  the  preceding  facts  it  follows  that  new  feel- 
ings are  dependent  upon  old  feelings  for  interpreta- 
tion and  appreciation,  just  as  new  facts  upon  old 
ones  :  the  law  of  going  from  the  known  to  the  un-. 
known  is  evidently  capable  of  wide  application. 
There  are  two  factors  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  its  appli- 
cation :  not  only  must  there  be  old  knowledge  and 
emotions  closely  related  to  the  new,  but  the  learner 
must  be  conscious  of  this  close  relationship. 

The  two  great  facts  just  mentioned  suggest  some 
important  conclusions :  — 

i.  Good  teaching  deals  primarily  with  ideas  and  Conclusions 
feelings  rather  than  with  words,  and  it  consists  in  principle  of 
Jilting  or  dovetailing  new  thoughts  and  emotions 
with  those  already  in  the  pupil's  possession ;  it  is  a 
process  of  adjusting  the  new  to  the  old;  and  the 
extent  to  which  a  close  adjustment  is  secured  deter- 
mines the  effectiveness  of  the  instruction  imparted. 
Real  skill  is  required  to  do  this ;  hence  teaching  is 
not  a  merely  mechanical  work  that  any  one  can  do. 
Not  every  one  can  teach ;  even  those  who  know  the 
subject-matter  of  instruction  thoroughly  may  make 
an  utter  failure  of  it.  In  order  to  fit  new  knowledge 
to  what  the  child  already  knows,  it  is  necessary  not 


QO  METHOD   OF    RECITATION 

only  to  be  acquainted  with  the  facts  to  be  offered, 
but  also  with  the  child  to  whom  they  are  to  be 
offered ;  the  latter  is  a  more  difficult  task,  yet  the 
pupil  must  be  thoroughly  understood  before  deftness 
can  be  shown  in  the  matching  process. 

But  while  teaching  is  difficult,  there  is  comfort  in 
the  fact  that  it  is  a  kind  of  work  in  which  skill  can 
be  acquired.  It  is  not  true  that  "  teachers  are 
born,  not  made."  The  average  person  can  become, 
or  be  made,  a  teacher,  provided  he  will  study  the 
child  and  the  laws  of  influencing  him  with  the  same 
care  that  he  studies  the  subjects  to  be  offered. 

2.  Words  have  no  magic  power ;  they  are  a  sub- 
ordinate instrument  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge, 
being  mere  symbols  by  which  experiences  are  called 
to  mind.  If  these  latter  are  wanting,  there  is  no 
effect.  The  eloquence  of  Cicero  could  not  explain 
to  a  deaf  man  what  music  is,  or  to  a  blind  man  what 
scarlet  is,  if  the  defect  in  hearing  or  sight  dated 
from  birth. 

Even  the  fact  that  pupils  remember  the  words  of 
the  teacher,  or  of  the  book,  and  can  repeat  them 
promptly,  gives  no  sufficient  proof  of  knowledge ;  it 
gives  proof  only  of  a  good  verbal  memory.  Very 
often  the  ability  to  reproduce  exact  words  of  defini- 
tions, etc.,  is  only  a  cloak  or  mask  behind  which 
ignorance  is  concealed.  For  instance,  exceedingly 
few  English  speaking  people  ever  reach  any  real 
appreciation  of  case  in  grammar,  although  they  can 


THE   APPROACH   TO    INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS  9! 

give  the  definition  and  some  examples  very  readily. 
Few  teachers  of  case  ever  have  any  warm  feeling 
for  that  subject,  which  is  evidence  that  they  have 
not  yet  made  it  their  own.  Much  verbatim  memoriz- 
ing is  merely  practice  in  unconscious  deception,  for 
thereby  both  teachers  and  students  are  persuaded 
that  knowledge  is  acquired,  when,  in  fact,  it  is  only 
the  symbols  for  ideas  rather  than  the  ideas  them 
selves  that  are  mastered. 

3.  The  mind  is  not  a  passive  recipient  of  knowl- 
edge, like  a  vessel  for  water,  or  a  storehouse  for 
grain.  It  is  active  in  choosing ;  it  applies  the 
severe  test  of  kinship  to  all  that  is  presented  to  it, 
ignoring  whatever  seems  foreign,  and  giving  a  warm 
reception  to  whatever  appears  closely  related  to  its 
needs. 

The  past  is,  therefore,  the  foundation  for  all 
future  learning.  This  is  true  of  any  kind  of  knowl- 
edge, and  applies  fully  to  the  acquisition  of  indi- 
vidual notions.  There  is  no  short  cut  to  learning 
by  merely  "handing  over"  ideas  from  one  person 
to  another;  whatever  is  received  is  accepted  solely 
on  the  condition  that  it  find  a  foundation  suited  to 
it ;  all  else  is  discarded. 

It  is  the  first  duty  of  the  teacher,  then,  to  direct  Meaning  of 
attention    to    the    past    related    experiences.      The  stgp;?ar 
architect   provides   first   for  the   foundation   of    his 
building,  and  the  stronger  the  superstructure  is  to 
be,  the  deeper  he  digs  into  the  earth  for  the  base. 


92  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

This  takes  time  and  costs  much  money,  but  it  is 
manifest  folly  to  omit  it.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
instructor ;  the  sole  condition  under  which  a  sure 
reception  can  be  found  for  what  he  offers,  is  that 
he  direct  attention  very  carefully  to  the  old  ideas 
as  the  groundwork. 

This  first  duty,  or  first  step,  in  the  series  of  move- 
ments for  the  mastery  of  a  generalization  is  well 
called  the  step  of  preparation  (of  the  learner's  mind), 
and  the  need  of  it  explains  the  reason  for  the 
peculiar  title  of  the  present  chapter. 

In  ordinary  practice  this  part  of  method  is  omitted. 
For  instance,  in  beginning  England,  in  a  geography 
lesson,  no  time  is  occupied  solely  with  recalling, 
collecting,  and  arranging  old  ideas  as  a  foundation 
upon  which  the  new  must  rest;  it  is  rather  the 
custom  to  plunge  into  the  new  immediately.  Even 
in  literature,  where  the  new  selection  is  often  intro- 
duced with  remarks  about  the  author,  about  charac- 
ters in  the  play,  etc.,  this  step  is  largely  overlooked. 
But,  if  children  are  fairly  well  prepared  for  the 
studies  which  they  are  perusing,  many  related  ideas 
will  spring  up  of  their  own  accord,  whenever  any 
topic  is  presented.  Why,  then,  occupy  time  in 
recalling  thoughts  of  the  past,  when  they  are  likely 
to  come  without  it  ? 

The  reasons  are  the  following  :  — 

First,  there  is  the  danger  of  no  understanding  of 
the  subject  presented.  For  instance,  many  a  child 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS  93 

has  committed  to  memory  the  poem  "  Excekior,"  won- 
dering the  while  what  it  meant.  The  subject  of 
scansion,  already  referred  to,  is  another  example  of 
the  same  kind.  Percentage  is  still  another.  Chil- 
dren are  often  mystified  by  the  fact  that,  while 
there  are  so  many  fractions,  those  of  a  certain  de- 
nomination called  hundredths  are  singled  out  and 
greatly  emphasized.  The  text-book,  too,  increases 
their  perplexity  by  introducing  the  subject  in  a  new 
chapter,  as  though  it  were  quite  different  from  what 
had  preceded.  As  a  result,  they  feel  strangers  to 
percentage  and  sometimes  fail  to  find  their  bearings 
for  a  long  period. 

Second,  there  is  the  danger  that,  even  if  children 
understand  the  ideas  presented,  they  may  feel  indif- 
ference toward  them.  This  is  perhaps  a  more  serious 
danger  than  the  preceding.  "  Gray's  Elegy,"  already 
referred  to,  furnishes  an  example.  That  poem  is 
frequently  finished  before  it  is  begun.  That  is, 
every  stanza  is  understood  by  the  child,  and  it  is 
laid  aside  as  completed  work,  without  his  ever  hav- 
ing begun  to  enter  into  its  spirit.  Likewise,  civil 
government,  English  grammar,  and  beginning  Latin 
are  often  taught  and  finished  without  any  good  effect 
further  than  the  possession  of  a  certain  quantity  of 
knowledge.  This  is  not  true  teaching.  To  the 
true  teacher  the  child's  sympathy  with  the  subject- 
matter  taught  is  an  absolutely  necessary  condition 
for  success.  The  pupil  should  always  be  able  to  give 


94  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  question,  "  What  is  this 
subject  to  me  ?  "  A  genuine  glow  of  feeling  must  ac- 
company facts  that  are  to  prove  of  permanent  worth. 
A  universal  law  is  here  involved.  Though  one 
come  to  understand  a  subject  fairly  well,  he  may  fail 
entirely  to  appreciate  it  sympathetically ;  but  unless 
knowledge  is  really  appreciated,  it  is  not  perma- 
nently valuable.  In  time  past  the  great  majority 
of  teachers  have  acted  as  though  the  possession  of 
knowledge  and  its  appreciation  were  identical.  The 
Sunday-school  teacher,  for  instance,  has  taken  for 
granted  that,  if  she  could  impart  a  few  Bible  facts 
to  her  class,  the  children  would  be  made  more 
religious.  Likewise,  Shakespeare's  dramas  have 
been  often  taught  with  the  presupposition  on  the 
part  of  the  instructor  that,  if  each  word  and  each 
sentence  were  clearly  comprehended,  a  love  for 
Shakespeare  and  for  literature  would  be  engen- 
dered. There  are  few  errors  more  serious.  While 
one  is  learning  to  comprehend  the  Bible,  or  literary 
productions,  or  history,  etc.,  an  unfriendly  feeling 
may  be  growing  up  which  may  result  in  dislike  of 
the  subject.  And  this  is  the  feeling  that  is  being 
aroused  towards  many  subjects  that  are  fairly  well 
comprehended.  That  attitude  of  mind  precludes 
the  possibility  of  good.  Both  Froebel  and  Herbart, 
the  two  great  educators  of  this  century,  urge  the 
necessity  of  interest  in  the  studies  taught,  and  the 
importance  of  the  development  of  tastes.  If  they 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS  95 

are  right,  interest  must  be  substituted  for  indiffer- 
ence or  aversion.  It  can  be  developed  through  the 
establishment  of  a  feeling  of  kinship  each  time 
for  what  is  offered.  And  since  this  feeling  of  kin- 
ship is  dependent,  as  has  already  been  shown,  upon 
consciousness  of  the  close  relation  between  the  old 
ideas  and  those  newly  offered,  it  can  be  aroused  by 
careful  attention  to  past  related  experience.  A  few 
examples  will  make  this  matter  clear. 

Let  it  be  the  aim  of  a  recitation  to  study  the  most 
beautiful  part  of  the  Rhine  River.  If,  without  any 
preparatory  step,  we  begin  a  description  of  the 
Rhine  itself,  serious  difficulties  may  easily  arise. 
The  conversation  soon  turns  to  valleys  and  beauti- 
ful views ;  it  is  this  valley  that  is  so  beautiful.  But 
children  often  do  not  remember  having  seen  a  val- 
ley, or,  if  they  do,  they  recall  nothing  about  it 
especially  attractive.  This  may  be  true  of  teachers 
as  well  as  of  children.  I  was  once  instructor  in  a 
county  institute  where  eighty  teachers  were  present. 
Seventy  of  them  declared  that  they  could  not  recall 
ever  having  enjoyed  a  beautiful  view.  But  the 
fact  was  that  in  the  town  where  the  institute  was 
held  there  were  several  beautiful  views,  one  of  the 
principal  avenues  being  entirely  arched  over  with 
elms.  Of  course  in  both  cases  they  had  all  seen 
the  object  talked  about,  and  not  being  made  con- 
scious of  the  fact,  they  had  nothing  to  build  upon. 
They  felt  no  kinship  for  the  subject  in  hand,  and 


96  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

hence  a  discussion  of  it  could  not  appeal  to  them. 
As  far  as  the  Rhine  River  is  concerned,  most  of 
those  who  are  prepared  for  its  study,  both  children 
and  teachers,  have  not  only  seen  valleys  and  streams 
and  beautiful  views,  but  they  have  heard  of  Bishop 
Hatto  and  the  Mouse  Tower,  Bingen  on  the  Rhine, 
the  Lorelei,  and  perhaps  they  have  even  read  "  Seven 
Little  Sisters."  If  these  ideas  were  all  called  up  as 
an  introduction  to  the  Rhine,  they  would  create  a 
feeling  of  kinship  which  would  mean  a  live  interest 
from  the  beginning. 

Again,  suppose  that  we  are  to  study  that  country 
in  Europe  in  which  William  Tell  is  said  to  have 
lived.  If  the  advance  work  is  begun  immediately, 
even  though  it  can  be  comprehended  fairly  well, 
there  is  serious  danger  of  comparative  indifference 
on  the  part  of  pupils.  But  this  danger  is  easily 
overcome  by  recalling  what  one  has  heard  or  read 
about  avalanches  and  snow  storms  among  the  Alps, 
about  Tell  and  other  adventures,  St.  Bernard  dogs, 
Swiss  lakes  and  scenery,  the  experiences  of  Jean- 
nette  in  "  Seven  Little  Sisters,"  etc. 

The  third  danger  threatened  by  the  omission  of 
this  preparatory  step  is  that  the  subject  under  con- 
sideration may  be  only  partially  tmderstood,  or  even 
misunderstood.  Rousseau's  story,  related  above,  is 
a  good  illustration.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  occur- 
rence for  auditors  of  a  lecture  to  contradict  one 
another  flatly  as  to  the  purport  of  the  lecturer's 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS  9/ 

thoughts.  People  approach  whatever  is  offered  them 
with  the  interests,  preconceptions,  prejudices,  etc., 
that  are  peculiar  to  them.  Each  one,  viewing  what 
is  presented  from  his  own  point  of  view,  naturally 
puts  his  individual  interpretation  upon  it.  It  is 
necessary,  then,  that  misunderstandings  arise ;  and 
school  examination  papers  prove  that  they  arise  in 
abundance.  Very  few  students  are  so  accurate  in 
all  their  observations  and  thinking  that  their  past 
conceptions  are  a  correct  basis  from  which  to  inter- 
pret new  ideas,  and  yet  past  experiences  are  the 
sole  means  for  such  interpretation.  Therefore,  it  is 
plainly  advisable  for  the  teacher,  in  order  to  avoid 
mistakes,  to  call  up,  examine,  and,  when  necessary, 
correct  past  related  experiences  before  advancing 
into  new  subject-matter. 

From  this  discussion  it  follows  that  there  is  dan- 
ger at  all  times  of  poor  instruction,  when  a  distinct 
period  is  not  set  aside  for  preparing  the  child's  mind 
to  receive  the  new  knowledge  that  is  offered.  There 
may  be  either  no  understanding  of  the  subject  in 
hand,  an  indifference  or  aversion  toward  it,  or  a  mis- 
understanding of  it.  The  only  safe  course  to  follow 
is  to  anticipate  such  difficulties  by  careful  prepara- 
tion. 

Many  teachers,  no  doubt,  would  agree  to  the  state- 
ments up  to  this  point,  but  would  object  to  this  con- 
clusion. Instead  of  anticipating  such  difficulties, 
they  would  plunge  into  the  new  subject-matter 


98 


METHOD    OF   RECITATION 


But  why  not, 
at  least,  delay 
considera- 
tion of  past 
related  ex- 
periences 
until  it  has 
been  found 
necessary? 


immediately;  then  if  any  of  the  evils  mentioned 
manifested  themselves,  they  would  correct  them  by 
turning  back  and  recalling  the  necessary  past  ex- 
periences. This  is  the  usual  plan  followed,  and  it  is 
popular  because  it  seems  to  save  much  time. 

But  if  related  past  experiences  are  to  be  called 
to  mind  at  all,  no  time  is  saved  by  doing  it  late 
rather  than  early.  Also,  if  such  experiences  are  the 
sole  basis  for  new  knowledge,  —  as  has  been  shown, 
—  the  latter  has  nothing  on  which  to  rest,  until  the 
former  are  present  in  consciousness.  Consequently 
time  is  lost  by  the  omission  of  the  preparatory  step. 
However,  there  is  more  than  a  loss  of  time  involved. 
If  children  read  "  Excelsior  "  without  interpreting  it 
through  many  old  and  familiar  thoughts,  i.e.  without 
interpreting  it  at  all,  they  have  not  only  sacrificed 
their  time,  but  they  have  lost  some  of  their  zest  for 
study.  That  kind  of  instruction  dulls  mental  life 
and  ambition.  The  injury  is  of  the  same  nature  if 
the  given  topic,  as  Gray's  "  Elegy,"  is  comprehended, 
but  is  pursued  with  indifference  or  dislike.  Finally, 
the  situation  is  not  improved  when  the  subject 
taught  is  misunderstood,  so  that  corrections  are 
necessary.  In  each  of  these  three  cases  the  first 
impressions  received  are  either  unfavorable  or  wrong ; 
they  must  be  erased  and  the  work  attempted  again 
in  a  better  way  before  good  can  result. 

Men  and  women  in  their  contact  with  one  another 
learned  long  ago  the  supreme  importance  of  favorable 


THE   APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS  99 

and  correct  first  impressions,  and  they  consequently 
approach  one  another  with  the  greatest  care.  When 
one  man  conceives  a  prejudice  against  another  at 
their  first  meeting,  a  strong  barrier  to  their  friendship 
is  surely  raised.  The  proverb  that  "  first  impressions 
are  most  lasting"  is  accepted  as  a  grave  truth  by 
the  world  of  society  and  business,  and  teachers 
have  abundant  reason  for  reaching  the  same  con- 
viction. The  child  who  has  gotten  linear,  square, 
and  cubic  measure  well  confused  in  his  mind,  is  apt 
to  be  permanently  weak  on  that  topic.  The  high 
school  student  who  has  decided  that  he  cannot 
understand  specific  gravity,  is  not  likely  ever  to 
understand  it  fully.  It  may  not  be  difficult  to 
rescue  such  persons  from  their  state  of  ignorance 
for  a  time,  but  the  difficulty  consists  in  making  the 
rescue  permanent.  All  these  facts  being  so  well 
established,  it  is  astonishing  how  willingly  teachers 
fairly  tumble  into  subjects,  leaving  first  impressions 
to  mere  accident.  It  is  true  that  "  it  is  easy  to  tear 
down,"  but  the  truth  applies  to  the  corrections  that 
one  attempts  to  make,  and  not  so  much  to  the  first 
impressions  themselves.  Progressive  teachers  are 
rightly  throwing  great  emphasis  upon  a  cautious 
approach  to  all  topics  of  study. 

We  have  reached  the  two  conclusions  that  new 
knowledge  is  interpreted  through  the  old,  and  that, 
in  order  that  this  interpretation  may  be  correct 
and  effective,  it  is  necessary  to  recall,  collect,  and 


IOO 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


arrange  the  past  experiences  bearing  upon  the  topic 
under  treatment  The  dangers  threatened  by  the 
omission  of  this  step  are  so  serious  that  it  must  con- 
stitute a  part  of  the  regular  instruction.  Now,  in 
planning  it,  there  are  a  few  considerations  that 
should  have  much  weight :  — 

Precaution          First,  the  teacher  should  endeavor  to  call  up  as 

the  prepara-    many  related  ideas  as  possible,  especially  those  which 

torystep.        are  cioseiy  welded  to  the  personality  of  the  child. 

These  latter  are  the  strongest  apperceiving  notions. 

Being  the  ones  that  are  most  vivid  and  active,  they 

can  best  establish  a  feeling  of  kinship  toward  what 

is  studied. 

It  is  surprising  how  little  value  book  knowledge 
may  possess  for  this  purpose.  One  may  have  read 
or  committed  to  memory  a  vast  number  of  facts  and 
still  be  stupid  in  his  capacity  for  receiving  or  ap- 
perceiving new  thoughts  through  them.  Ordina- 
rily experiences  that  have  occurred  outside  of  the 
schoolroom  are  a  surer  apperceiving  basis  than 
those  within  the  schoolroom  —  a  proof  that  much 
school  instruction  is  radically  wrong.  Arithmetic 
illustrates  this  truth.  Although  that  branch  is 
studied  so  much,  the  subject-matter  is  so  taught 
that  it  often  fails  to  become  welded  to  the  person- 
ality of  the  child,  and  hence  it  cannot  act  as  a  firm 
apperceiving  basis  for  the  comprehension  and  solu- 
tion of  the  ordinary  arithmetical  problems  that  life 
presents. 


THE   APPROACH   TO    INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS        IOI 

Even  knowledge  drilled  into  pupils  at  school  by 
frequent  repetition  may  give  very  little  apperceiving 
power.  The  reason  for  this  can  be  easily  seen  by 
recalling  the  definition  of  teaching ;  namely,  the  care- 
ful fitting  of  new  thoughts  to  past  experiences. 
Frequent  drill  upon  a  point,  or  constant  verbatim 
repetition,  makes  no  provision  for  this  process  of 
fitting  some  ideas  to  others.  Such  repetition  is 
based  upon  a  different  conception  of  teaching; 
namely,  that  the  connection  between  the  old  and 
the  new,  if  necessary,  is  established  by  mere  force, 
by  frequent  pounding.  But  daily  repetition  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  while  it  familiarizes  us  thoroughly 
with  a  certain  order  of  words,  does  not  necessarily 
bring  the  meaning  of  the  prayer  any  nearer  to  us. 
Many  a  man  would  be  greatly  surprised  if  his  atten- 
tion were  called  to  the  real  significance  of  the  first 
words,  "  Our  Father,"  for  he  has  never  stopped  to 
reflect  upon  them.  The  teacher,  therefore,  in  plan- 
ning for  full  apperception,  cannot  expect  to  find 
strong  support  in  many  of  those  subjects  which 
have  been  verbally  memorized  and  frequently  re- 
peated. Her  strongest  support  will  be  found  usually 
in  the  home  experiences  of  the  pupil,  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  parents,  in  the  subjects  of  conversation 
among  them  and  the  children,  in  the  games  among 
the  latter,  in  books  of  travel,  and  in  fact  in  any 
books  that  children  have  read  of  their  own  accord. 
All  of  these  furnish  ideas  which  become  so  thor« 


UNIVERSITY  0 

SANTA.  BARBARA 


IO2  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

oughly  a  part  of  the  child's  life  that  they  are  the  surest 
foundation  upon  which  new  knowledge  may  rest. 

It  is  evident  that  success  in  this  step  of  instruction 
involves  an  extensive  knowledge  of  the  child's  home 
relations  and  of  his  individual  nature;  that  is,  his 
preferences,  peculiarities,  and  feelings.  From  among 
these  home  experiences,  and  those  of  the  school  also, 
in  as  far  as  the  instruction  there  has  been  good, 
many  facts  should  be  drawn  which  bear  directly 
upon  the  advance  instruction  to  be  given.  By  call- 
ing up  as  many  vivid  experiences  as  possible,  the 
feeling  of  relationship  to  the  topic  in  advance  will 
be  closer,  and  therefore  the  teaching  will  prove 
more  effective.  For  instance,  children  will  be  at- 
tracted to  England  after  they  recall  facts  such  as 
the  following:  that  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  John 
Smith,  William  Penn,  came  from  England ;  that 
Charles  Dickens,  the  author  of  so  many  good  stories, 
lived  there ;  that  sometimes  their  pocket  knives, 
and  very  often  the  table  knives,  have  "Sheffield" 
marked  upon  them ;  that  many  of  our  names  are  Eng- 
lish, with  New  prefixed,  as  New  England,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  New  Hampshire,  New  Bedford ;  thatsome 
in  the  class  have  relatives  or  friends  who  have  visited 
that  country,  and  who  have  related  certain  incidents, 
etc.  That  is  the  skilful  teacher  who  can  designate  be- 
forehand just  how  many  things  each  child  has  known 
pertaining  to  a  given  subject,  so  that  in  a  few  minutes 
they  may  all  be  recalled. 


THE   APPROACH   TO   INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS        1 03 

The  second  precaution  to  be  taken  is,  that  no  ad- 
vance work  should  be  attempted  during  this  prepar- 
atory step.  One  cannot  well  prepare  for  new  knowl- 
edge by  presenting  what  is  new,  just  as  he  cannot 
erect  a  building  while  laying  the  foundation.  There 
is  always  a  temptation  to  move  forward,  and  to  offer 
new  thoughts  in  the  midst  of  the  discussion  of  old 
ones.  But  the  kind  of  mental  activity  required  in 
this  preparatory  step  is  different  from  that  required 
in  the  advance.  In  the  case  of  England  just  referred 
to,  the  recalling  of  such  thoughts  taxes  the  memory 
rather  than  the  ability  to  comprehend.  One  is  called 
upon  to  survey  his  experiences  in  order  to  choose  out 
those  which  bear  upon  a  given  subject.  That  kind 
of  work  must  be  done  by  itself.  If,  in  the  midst  of 
it,  new  facts  are  frequently  offered,  they  are  a  serious 
interruption. — Further  than  this,  there  would  be  dan- 
ger that  the  new  and  the  old  may  become  somewhat 
mixed  in  passing  frequently  from  the  one  to  the  other. 
For  instance,  if  children  were  collecting  all  the  facts 
they  knew  about  London,  and  the  teacher  were  to 
allow  some  advance  instruction  in  the  midst  of  this 
work,  there  would  be  a  temptation  on  her  part  to 
handle  this  latter  as  briefly  as  the  former.  Review 
points  are  naturally  covered  more  rapidly  than  ad- 
vance, and  there  would  be  a  tendency  to  the  same 
rate  of  speed  in  the  latter.  It  is  always  important 
for  both  teachers  and  pupils  to  know  definitely 
whether  they  are  reviewing  or  advancing,  because 


IO4  METHOD  OF  RECITATION 

only  in  that  case  do  they  exercise  a  proper  amount 
of  caution  in  regard  to  speed. 

Another  object  of  this  separation  is  to  fix  clearly 
the  limits  of  the  pupils'  knowledge  upon'  the  topic  in 
hand.  Whenever  one  sees  definitely  where  his  knowl- 
edge leaves  off,  a  feeling  of  need  arises,  an  appetite 
is  generated  for  more;  that  is,  a  receptive  frame  of 
mind  is  produced,  and  one  knows  where  new  instruc- 
tion should  begin.  It  is  a  seTious  fault  with  people 
that  they  are  not  sufficiently  aware  of  what  they 
know,  and  of  what  they  do  not  know.  The  limits 
between  the  two  are  so  hidden  that  often,  although 
they  know  little  they  take  it  for  granted  that  they 
know  much.  In  consequence,  they  do  not  feel  a  need 
for  instruction ;  or  the  feeling  of  need,  if  present,  is 
not  specific,  and  hence  it  is  difficult  to  know  where 
to  begin.  No  educator  has  ever  been  so  keen  as 
Socrates  in  appreciating  the  importance  of  fixing  the 
exact  limits  of  a  pupil's  knowledge  as  the  condition 
under  which  he  will  be  in  a  receptive  frame  of  mind ; 
but  the  teacher  also  is  benefited  by  knowing  this 
limit  for. he  knows  then  where  his  instruction  ought 
to  commence  —  a  very  important  matter. 

Queries  will  often  arise  while  pupils  are  recalling 
their  knowledge  about  a  certain  matter,  and  they  will 
often  even  fall  into  friendly  disputes  over  it.  For 
example,  a  room  full  of  fourth-grade  children  in 
Chicago  once  became  excited  in  discussing  how  the 
water  reached  the  city  from  the  lake,  and  what  was 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS         IO$ 

the  purpose  of  the  water  tower  and  engine.  The 
chief  result  of  the  recitation  consisted  in  the  discov- 
ery, both  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  and  the  children, 
that  the  latter  did  not  know  the  things  which  they 
had  supposed  they  knew,  and  the  disputes  that  arose 
gave  point  to  several  advance  lessons  which  were  in 
prospect.  The  children  were  anxious  to  find  out  who 
were  right  in  the  sides  taken,  and  these  recitations 
were  looked  forward  to  as  the  answers  to  the  prob- 
lems presented.  Such  disputes,  therefore,  are  de- 
cidedly welcome. 

More  than  that,  children  may  often  run  forward  in 
thought  and  anticipate  facts  which  will  be  presented 
later.  That  is  quite  desirable.  Some  anticipation  of 
what  is  coming  is  one  of  the  surest  signs  of  good 
teaching,  for  it  proves  that  children  are  in  the  spirit 
of  the  instruction  given.  Whether  their  expectations 
are  realized  or  not  makes  little  difference.  Their  minds 
are  on  the  alert,  and  the  outcome  will  be  awaited 
with  interest.  Thus  lasting  impressions  are  assured. 

The  third  precaution  in  this  step  is  fully  as  impor- 
tant as  either  of  the  other  two  and,  in  fact,  conditions 
the  success  of  both ;  it  requires  the  statement  of  the  aim. 

The  attention  of  pupils  must  be  centred  quickly 
and  fully  on  the  work  undertaken.  They  enter  the 
class  room  with  scattered  thoughts,  or  occupied  with 
the  subject-matter  of  the  recitation  immediately  pre- 
ceding. Unless  skill  is  manifested  by  the  instructor 
in  calling  up  the  ideas  that  are  desirable  and  ia 


IO6  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

excluding  all  others,  the  recitation  is  lame  from  the 
beginning.  Commands  will  not  accomplish  this  ob- 
ject Even  adults  possess  little  ability  through  mere 
action  of  will  alone  to  rivet  their  attention  upon  a 
certain  topic  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else.  Much 
less  do  children  have  this  power.  At  the  best  the 
latter  are  able  through  the  force  of  will  to  turn  their 
attention  to  a  given  object  for  only  a  moment.  If, 
then,  the  subject-matter  itself  does  not  continue  to 
attract  them,  their  thoughts  quickly  wander.  But 
much  teaching  fails  to  secure  this  initial  act  of  the 
will.  Even  though  children  sit  bolt  upright  and 
direct  their  eyes  to  the  teacher,  their  minds,  like 
those  of  adults  in  listening  to  sermons,  are  often 
filled  with  matters  wholly  irrelevant  to  the  topic  im- 
mediately under  discussion.  Only  as  the  recitation 
proceeds  is  the  attention  of  one  child  after  another 
caught  and  held  by  the  facts  presented,  and  only 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  hour  is  much  momentum 
of  thought  attained.  It  would  certainly  be  a  great 
gain  if  closer  attention  and  greater  speed  in  thinking 
could  be  secured  earlier,  or  even  at  the  beginning  of 
the  recitation  period.  A  proper  statement  of  the  aim 
of  the  recitation,  worded  from  the  children's  point 
of  view,  can  do  much  toward  the  accomplishment  of 
this  purpose.  In  acquiring  knowledge,  as  in  other 
occupations,  the  degree  of  attention  given  and  the 
quantity  of  effort  put  forth  are  much  influenced  by  the 
clearness  and  zest  with  which  the  aim  is  conceived. 


THE   APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS         IO/ 

It  is  taken  for  granted  that  the  teacher  has  a  defi- 
nite object  in  view  in  each  recitation  ;  the  contention 
now  is  that  the  pupils  also  shall  aim  at  something 
definite.  The  preparatory  step  which  has  been  dis- 
cussed requires  that  they  select  all  facts  in  their  pos- 
session that  bear  on  a  given  topic,  and  reject  all  else. 
They  must  do  most  of  this  work  themselves;  the 
teacher  can  merely  offer  them  suggestions.  But 
unless  they  know  in  some  way  what  the  recitation  is 
aiming  to  accomplish,  they  are  ignorant  as  to  what 
they  should  search  for  out  of  their  past  experience ; 
of  course,  then,  they  are  helpless  and  must  be  led 
along  blindly. 

A  properly  stated  aim  must  fulfil  several  impor-  Character- 
tant  requirements.  In  the  first  place,  it  must  be  con-  l*™i\s' aim. 
crete  and  not  abstract.  Enough  has  been  said  about 
abstractions  or  generalizations  in  previous  chapters 
to  show  that  they  follow  rather  than  precede  individ- 
ual notions.  They  are  empty  and  repellent  until  one 
has  the  concrete  data  upon  which  they  depend.  Con- 
sequently, the  children  should  not  be  told  that  a 
recitation  is  aiming  to  explain  some  general  truth.  — 
However,  this  does  not  signify  by  any  means  that  the 
teacher  shall  have  no  such  aim  in  her  own  mind. 
As  has  been  already  stated,  instruction  culminates  in 
generalizations,  and  the  teacher  must  keep  these  in 
mind ;  but  her  purpose  is  a  thing  entirely  separate 
from  the  aim  which  should  be  stated  before  the 
children. 


IO8  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

A  Sunday-school  teacher,  in  telling  about  Daniel 
in  the  lions'  den,  would  hope  ultimately  to  impress 
upon  her  pupils  the  general  truth  that  God  protects 
those  who  trust  in  Him  ;  but  the  object  of  the  recita- 
tion which  she  would  give  to  the  class  might  well  be 
"  to  find  out  how  it  happened  that  Daniel  was  thrown 
into  a  den  of  lions,  and  what  came  of  it."  This  is  a 
concrete  statement  and  would  naturally  arouse  the  in- 
terest of  children.  Instead  of  saying  that  "we  will  find 
out  to-day  what  per  cent  one  number  is  of  another," 
we  could  better  give  this  problem,  "A  camel  lives 
forty  years  and  an  elephant  one  hundred  and  ten 
years ;  the  age  of  the  former  is  what  per  cent  of  that 
of  the  latter  ? "  Also,  instead  of  the  question,  "  What 
are  pronouns  ?  "  which  is  abstract,  aiming  at  a  defini- 
tion, it  would  be  better  to  set  up  the  following  object, 
"  Let  us  see  what  words  are  used  to  take  the  place 
of  Columbus  in  the  composition  you  have  written 
about  him."  In  place  of  the  question,  "  How  do 
cities  obtain  their  water  ? "  it  would  be  better  to  ask 
(if  one  lived  in  Chicago),  "  Where  does  Chicago  get 
its  water,  and  how  is  it  brought  to  the  city  ? "  In 
teaching  the  fable  about  the  Lion  and  the  Mouse,  the 
teacher  may  properly  aim  to  show  to  her  pupils  that 
little  things  may  be  of  much  help ;  but  her  concrete 
statement  might  be,  "  Let  us  hear  a  story  about  how 
a  mouse  once  saved  the  life  of  a  lion."  Thus  the 
first  requirement  of  a  good  aim  is  fulfilled  by  making 
it  concrete. 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS        1 09 

The  second  important  requirement  is  that  the  aim 
be  definite.  Little  is  accomplished  by  announcing 
"  a  continuation  of  the  same  subject."  And  a  teacher 
fixes  a  very  imperfect  purpose  before  her  class  when 
she  states  they  will  study  "  About  Bunker  Hill,"  or 
"  About  leaves,"  or  "  About  Spain,"  or  "  About  the 
union  of  our  states."  The  following  aims  are  much 
more  desirable  :  "  How  the  Americans  outwitted  the 
British  and  drove  them  out  of  Boston,"  "  Where 
leaves  grow ;  why  they  are  so  thin ;  why  they  fall," 
etc.,  "Why  nearly  all  the  large  cities  in  Spain  are 
on  the  coast,"  "  What  prevented  the  union  of  our  colo- 
nies from  breaking  to  pieces  at  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary War."  The  advantages  of  the  latter  consist 
in  the  fact  that  they  are  definite  enough  to  concen- 
trate attention  upon  a  particular  point. 

As  far  as  possible  one  should  state  an  object  which 
can  be  accomplished  within  one  recitation  period,  and 
consequently  some  of  the  aims  just  stated  might  need 
to  be  divided  somewhat.  For  example,  the  one  in  re- 
gard to  Bunker  Hill  might  be  stated  thus :  first,  "  Let 
us  study  the  plan  that  the  Americans  adopted  to  out- 
wit the  British  and  drive  them  out  of  Boston  "  ;  second, 
"  Let  us  see  how  this  plan  was  executed."  In  each 
case  the  class  would  be  expected  to  review  the  situa- 
tion in  which  each  army  was  placed,  etc.,  before  the 
advance  instruction  begins  :  this  would  constitute  the 
preparatory  step. 

The  third  requirement  is  that  the  aim  be  short, 


IIO  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

simple,  and  attractive.  Strange  words  would  not  be 
acceptable.  Hence,  with  children,  it  would  be  better 
to  ask,  "  How  do  leaves  help  the  tree  ? "  than  "  What 
is  the  function  of  leaves  ? "  Also,  "  What  changes 
does  the  caterpillar  pass  through  ? "  rather  than 
"  What  are  the  metamorphoses  of  the  caterpillar  ? " 
Of  course  the  simpler  the  statement,  the  more  easily 
it  is  understood ;  and  the  shorter  it  is,  the  more  easily 
it  is  reproduced.  It  is  usually  desirable  that  the  chil- 
dren reproduce  it  at  least  once  at  the  beginning  of 
the  recitation  in  order  to  make  sure  that  it  is  under- 
stood. The  attractiveness  of  the  aims  stated  will 
depend  upon  the  happy  combination  of  what  is  famil- 
iar and  what  is  new  to  the  child.  Here  is  a  great 
opportunity  for  skill  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  The 
wording  should  be  such  that  the  class  will  feel  at 
least  partially  acquainted  with  the  topic  and  still 
strangers  to  such  an  extent  that  they  will  be  desirous 
of  learning  more  in  regard  to  it.  That  aim  is  weak 
which  does  not  awaken  a  feeling  of  need  in  the  child 
for  more  knowledge. 

The  several  requirements  of  the  aim,  therefore, 
are  as  follows :  it  should  be  concrete,  definite,  sim- 
ple, short,  and  attractive.  The  fact  may  be  well 
emphasized  once  more,  that  these  are  the  require- 
ments of  the  aim  which  is  to  be  given  to  the  chil- 
dren at  the  beginning  of  the  recitation.  —  Such  a 
statement  does  not  mean  the  giving  of  the  rule  first ; 
the  rule  is  abstract,  while  the  aim  recommended  is 


THE   APPROACH   TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS         III 

concrete.  The  teacher  keeps  the  rule  in  mind,  since 
the  instruction  should  finally  arrive  at  this  result; 
but  it  would  be  unpedagogical  for  her  to  say  any- 
thing about  it  beforehand  to  the  children.  —  The 
form  of  the  statement  may  vary,  being  either  a  dec- 
laration or  a  question  or  a  problem.  But  whatever 
form  it  assumes,  it  should  not  reveal  new  facts  in 
iujh  a  way  as  to  deprive  advance  instruction  of  its 
interest.  One  can  easily  tell  too  much.  For  instance, 
in  regard  to  the  water  supply  of  Chicago,  he  might 
declare  it  to  be  his  aim,  "  to  see  how  a  tunnel  brings 
water  to  the  city  and  an  engine  pumps  it  into  the 
tower;"  or,  the  object  might  be,  "to  see  how  un- 
productive the  interior  of  Spain  is  because  most  of 
the  rain  falls  on  the  edge  of  the  great  plateau,"  or, 
"how  we  add  fractions  by  making  them  alike." 
These  statements  contain  facts  that  should  be  re- 
vealed in  the  later  instruction ;  if  stated  at  the  be- 
ginning, they  weaken  the  instruction  which  is  to 
follow,  just  as  the  inadvertent  telling  of  the  point 
of  a  joke  weakens  the  narration  of  the  joke  itself. 
The  advantages  of  an  aim  that  fulfils  these  condi- 
tions are  manifest.  It  renders  a  recitation  easy  to 
conduct,  because  it  furnishes  a  strong  motive  for 
work  upon  a  particular  subject.  Children  become 
eager  to  collect  and  present  their  related  ideas. 

But  there  is  scarcely  a  more  difficult  task  in  all  why  a  prop- 
teaching  than  the  preparation  of  an  aim  that  fulfils  puprr°aimis 
the  few  requirements  named.  difficult. 


112  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

1.  The  teacher  must  comprehend  clearly  the  study 
that  she  is  teaching;  also,  in  planning  each  lesson, 
she  must  distinguish  the  essential  facts  from  those 
that   are   comparatively   trivial.       The    aim    that   is 
stated  should  direct  attention  to  the  central  idea  in 
a  concrete  way;  such  an  aim  cannot  be  conceived 
until  the  relative  value   of   thoughts  is   determined 
and  the  real  gist  of  the  lesson  perceived. 

2.  The  teacher  must   know  the  contents   of   her 
pupils'  minds,  their  emotions,  and  so  forth,  before 
she  can  frame  a  statement  that  will  appear  to  them 
definite,  short,  simple,  and  attractive. 

A  good  aim  becomes  a  standard  both  to  the  chil- 
dren and  to  the  teacher  for  judging  the  worth  of 
contributions  by  the  former.  Since  this  first  step 
is  necessarily  conversational,  there  is  always  danger 
that  the  discussion  will  degenerate  into  a  conversa- 
tion that  aims  at  nothing  and  accomplishes  nothing. 
But  when  all  are  conscious  of  a  fixed  aim,  reference 
to  it  by  the  teacher  or  pupils  will  determine  whether 
or  not  a  certain  thought  is  worth  their  attention. 
For  example,  if  the  class  sets  out  to  show  how 
water  reaches  houses  from  the  lake  (in  Chicago), 
the  child  who  is  eager  to  tell  about  the  bursting  of 
the  water  pipes  in  his  home  on  a  certain  cold  night 
may  be  immediately  ruled  out.  This  measuring  of 
the  relevancy  of  thoughts  is  an  exceedingly  valuable 
exercise  for  children;  it  calls  judgment  into  play. 

Also,  the  development  of  will  is  intimately  involved 


THE   APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS         113 

in  the  fixing  and  attainment  of  an  aim  in  each  reci- 
tation. "  Without  aim,  no  will,"  is  an  important 
dictum  of  the  Germans.  That  is,  when  one  fails  to 
see  clearly  what  is  at  issue,  he  feels  little  incentive 
to  exert  himself.  This  thought  was  in  mind  in  the 
assertion  that  a  definite  aim  furnishes  a  motive  for 
effort.  But,  further  than  that,  if  one  daily  sets  up 
objects  to  be  accomplished  and  is  successful  in 
reaching  them,  he  falls  into  the  habit  of  succeeding. 
The  energy  and  perseverance  that  we  show  in  over- 
coming new  obstacles  are  greatly  conditioned  by 
such  a  habit.  If,  as  we  look  backward  in  time,  we 
recall  the  fact  that  it  has  usually  been  our  lot  to 
fail,  courage  evaporates.  But  if  we  see  our  past 
efforts  crowned  with  success,  self-confidence  is  great 
and  energy  is  increased.  Thus  the  past  influences 
the  anticipations  and  the  results  of  the  future.  That 
instructor  who  daily  leads  her  pupils  to  attain  cer- 
tain ends  agreed  upon,  is  accustoming  them  to  suc- 
cess ;  she  is  developing  in  them  a  belief  in  themselves 
which  will  cause  their  will  action  to  be  energetic  and 
persistent. 

We  see  the  special  importance,  therefore,  of  re- 
peating the  aim  until  it  is  clearly  fixed  as  a  purpose 
in  the  pupils'  minds ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  recitation 
it  is  important  to  compare  the  work  accomplished 
with  that  aim. 

Omitting  further  discussion  of  the  aim  in  partic- 
ular, one  merit  of  this  preparatory  step  deserves 
i 


METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

still  to  be  noted ;  namely,  it  affords  opportunity  for 
frequent  reviews  of  the  best  possible  kind.  It  is 
all  important  that  children  recall  frequently  any 
knowledge  already  acquired;  otherwise  it  is  likely 
to  escape  them.  For  this  purpose  reviews  are  often 
held  at  the  end  of  a  term,  occupying  one,  two,  or 
three  weeks ;  or,  if  not  then,  they  come  during  the 
term  whenever  any  subject  is  completed.  But  in 
such  reviews  progress  is  so  rapid  that  the  work  is 
less  thorough  than  when  the  topics  were  studied  the 
first  time;  their  avowed  object  is  not  greater  thor- 
oughness of  knowledge,  but  merely  the  refreshing 
of  the  memory  in  regard  to  it.  Such  work  is  an 
injury.  Any  review  that  takes  place  merely  for 
the  sake  of  review,  and  that  does  not  require  new 
thought,  tends  to  check  mental  life :  mere  repetition 
for  repetition's  sake  has  a  deadening  effect.  But 
how  can  this  evil  be  remedied,  since  reviews  are 
essential  ?  This  step  of  preparation  is  a  partial 
remedy,  for  it  furnishes  abundant  opportunity  for 
incidental  reviews.  In  approaching  any  new  sub- 
ject, as  England,  or  the  union  of  our  country,  or 
changes  in  insect  life,  or  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
those  familiar  facts  are  recalled  that  bear  upon  it. 
They  are  not  reviewed  merely  for  the  sake  of  review, 
i.e.  without  a  motive  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  but 
because  they  are  a  valuable  preparation  for  what  is 
to  come.  Such  work  is  full  of  interest.  Children 
feel  their  strength  when  recalling  an  abundance  of 


THE   APPROACH   TO   INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS         11$ 

experiences  preparatory  to  later  instruction ;  their 
minds  are  on  the  alert.  Any  ideas  that  are  closely 
akin  to  the  subject  are  at  a  premium,  whether  they 
come  from  the  study  immediately  under  considera- 
tion, or  from  other  branches  in  school,  or  from  home 
experiences,  from  reading,  from  travel,  etc.  This 
careful  scrutiny  of  one's  stock  of  ideas  with  the  pur- 
pose of  selecting  only  a  certain  relevant  kind  means 
a  review  of  the  old  from  a  new  standpoint,  with  a 
new  element  in  it  that  arouses  interest;  this  is  the 
only  kind  of  review  that  should  be  tolerated ;  as  it 
is  the  kind  that  this  preparatory  step  is  continually 
bringing  about,  the  latter  should,  for  this  particular 
reason,  be  highly  valued. 

Since  there  is  only  one  way  to  acquire  knowledge, 
i.e.  since  all  new  facts  can  be  interpreted  solely  by 
those  already  in  our  possession,  it  is  evident  that, 
in  insisting  upon  this  preparatory  step,  we  are  only 
demanding  that  a  universal  law  of  learning  be  ap- 
plied. If  it  is  ignored,  children  will  encounter  much 
friction  and  hence  will  learn  slowly  and  with  little 
effect;  if  it  is  carefully  applied,  many  of  the  artifi- 
cial barriers  to  their  progress  are  removed,  so  that 
they  advance  thoroughly  and  rapidly. 

The  amount  of  time  that   this  step  requires  de-  Timere- 
pends  upon  circumstances.     In  beginning  the  study 
of  Spain  it  might  not  take  more  than  five  minutes  steP- 
to  recall  the  facts  that  Columbus  sailed  from  Palos, 
Malaga    grapes    come    from    southern    Spain,   bull- 


n6  METHOD  OF  RECITATION 

fighting  is  the  national  sport,  we  were  recently  at 
war  with  Spain,  etc.  The  time  taken  is  dependent 
upon  the  number  of  things  the  pupils  know.  The 
introduction  into  England  might  easily  occupy  thirty 
minutes.  Sometimes  it  will  take  even  more  time 
than  that  to  collect  what  the  class  knows  and  to 
mark  the  limits  distinctly  between  what  they  are 
certain  of  and  what  they  are  doubtful  about.  As  a 
rule,  the  aim  for  any  single  recitation  will  cover 
both  review  and  advance  work,  and  the  latter  will 
begin  as  soon  as  the  former  is  finished  —  as  in  the 
preceding  examples.  If  a  class  were  to  set  out  to 
learn  the  products  of  Ireland,  it  might  require  fifteen 
minutes  to  collect  the  few  familiar  facts,  i.e.  that 
this  is  called  the  Emerald  Isle,  that  Irish  linens  are 
famous,  etc. ;  then  a  fuller  investigation  of  the  rea- 
sons why  this  is  so  green  an  island,  or  why  so  much 
linen  is  manufactured  here,  would  begin  immediately 
and  constitute  the  advance  work. 

Now  and  then,  as  in  literature,  history,  and,  in 
fact,  in  most  studies,  the  desired  related  experiences 
of  the  past  come  so  easily  and  quickly  into  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  children  that  the  advance  lesson 
may  begin  immediately.  But  when  we  recollect  that 
they  must  pass  very  frequently  from  one  study  to 
another,  and  that,  in  so  doing,  they  are  required  to 
direct  their  attention  suddenly  to  a  different  sub- 
ject, we  can  appreciate  the  difficulty  they  find  in 
collecting  the  desired  facts  and  in  entering  into  the 


THE    APPROACH    TO    INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS         1 1/ 

spirit  of  the  lesson  at  once.  On  the  whole,  it  is 
very  unsafe  to  take  for  granted  that  the  necessary 
ideas  are  present ;  it  is  ever  wiser  to  take  at  least  a 
glance  at  the  foundation,  and  in  most  cases  to  ex- 
amine it  closely,  before  proceeding  to  build  upon  it. 

The  method   here    is    entirely   conversational;    it  Method  con- 
could  not  be  otherwise,  since   each  child  is  merely  versatlonal< 
offering  whatever  he  can  bring  to  bear.     It  is  well 
to  arrange  the   thoughts  given  under  headings,  and 
frequently  at  the  close  of   the  step  to  recapitulate, 
in  order  that  the   exact  amount  accomplished  may 
stand  out  and  the  pupils  may  thus  keep  their  bear- 
ings. 

This  is  often  called  the  step  of  analysis  as  well  as 
the  first  or  the  preparatory  step.  It  is  plain  that 
this  other  name  is  in  place,  since  in  it  the  children 
are  required  to  analyze  the  contents  of  their  minds, 
or  to  separate  a  certain  few  ideas  that  bear  on  a 
special  point  from  the  many  others  which  are  in 
their  possession. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HOW  INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS    SHOULD    BE   PRESENTED 

THE  first  step  prepares  the  foundation ;  this  second 
adds  a  portion  of  the  superstructure.     In   the  first, 
those  thoughts  that  bear  on  a  certain  topic  are  sepa- 
rated from  the  other  contents   of  the   mind,  hence 
,         that  is  called  the  step   of   analysis :   in  this   second 
the  new  thoughts  are  united  with  the  old,  hence  it 
is  called  the  step  of  synthesis.     If  the  former  has  been 
successful,  the  latter  will  show  the  effects  speedily. 
How  prepar-       Judged  by  common  practice  in  teaching,  the  first 
saves  time      steP  involves  great  loss  of  time,  for  instruction  usually 
here-  commences  with    the  second.     But   as  soon  as  one 

begins  presenting  the  new  concrete  facts,  the  effect 
of  a  good  preparatory  step  shows  itself  by  allowing 
much  more  rapid  progress  than  is  otherwise  possible. 
The  children,  being  able  to  comprehend  the  topic  in 
hand,  and  being  also  interested  in  it,  are  much  more 
on  the  alert  than  otherwise,  and  can  digest  more 
rapidly  whatever  is  offered.  Also  it  is  unnecessary 
to  interrupt  the  instruction  by  long  explanations,  and 
by  detours  to  hunt  up  related  experiences  ;  conse- 
quently the  time  is  occupied  more  completely  by  the 
advance  instruction. 

118 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  119 

The  same  reasons  hold  for  the  statement  of  an  aim  Necessity  of 
in  this  step  as  in  the  step  of  preparation.  That  is, 
an  aim  will  concentrate  attention  and  furnish  a  mo- 
tive for  active  thinking.  The  fact  that  it  makes  the 
child  conscious  of  the  course  he  is  pursuing,  and 
thus  prevents  unexpected  discoveries,  is  greatly  in  its 
favor.  While  it  is  an  excellent  thing  to  make  dis- 
coverieSj  it  is  much  better  that  they  be  dimly  antici- 
pated than  that  they  be  entire  surprises.  Students 
of  all  ages  should  realize  which  way  they  are  bound, 
and  if  they  comprehend  the  situation  so  well  that 
they  foresee  what  is  likely  to  come,  it  is  a  very 
encouraging  sign.  In  fixing  the  aim  the  same  pre- 
cautions should  be  observed  as  have  been  discussed. 

The  form  of  presentation,  that  is,  the  way  of  get-  Form  of 
ting  at  the  facts,  may  vary  greatly.  The  children  pre' 
may  hear  a  story  and  discuss  it;  they  may  read  a 
selection,  study  a  map,  or  a  geography  lesson,  in  the 
book  ;  they  may  examine  and  sketch  a  flower ;  they 
may  interpret  and  work  out  a  set  of  problems  in 
arithmetic,  or  perform  a  suggested  experiment,  or 
study  the  conjugation  of  a  verb,  or  examine  and 
discuss  the  objects  of  a  science  lesson  freely  with  the 
teacher.  So  long,  however,  as  the  class  is  engaged 
in  acquiring  new  and  concrete  subject-matter,  it  is 
always  the  second  step  of  instruction. 

But  while  there  is  so  much  variety  in  the  form  of 
recitation,  it  is  due  rather  to  variety  in  the  subject- 
matter  taught  than  to  difference  in  the  methods 


I2O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

employed.  In  the  main,  most  subjects  are  treated 
according  to  one  of  three  methods ;  namely,  accord- 
ing to  the  lecture,  the  text-book,  or  the  developing 
method. 

1.  The   lecture  method  is   followed   extensively  in 
college  and  university  work,  and  to  some  extent  in 
high  schools.      According  to  that  plan,  the  teacher 
imparts  knowledge  directly,  or  tells  the  facts  which 
the  students  are  expected  to  learn.     When  it  is  re- 
membered that  lecturing  is  synonymous  with  telling, 
it  is  evident  that  the  method  is  not  wholly  unknown 
even  to  teachers  of  small  children.     They  very  often 
spend   five,  ten,    fifteen,    or   twenty   minutes   telling 
thoughts  from  a  Sunday-school  lesson,  or  facts   in 
geography,  history,  etc. 

2.  Text-books   have  long   been   in  vogue  and   are 
probably  as  popular  to-day  as  ever.     Recent  years, 
however,  have   brought  very  great   improvement  in 
their  use.     There  was  a  time  when  it  was  customary 
for  children  to  learn  verbatim  the  text  in  grammar  and 
geography.     It  is  needless  to  say  that  that  work  was 
destructive  of  the  best  qualities  of  mind.      Subject- 
matter  was  often  committed   to  memory  that  failed 
entirely  to  be  understood,  although  a  pretence  to  the 
contrary  was  made.     In  the  main,  it  was  the  memory 
that  was  appealed  to,  rather  than  the  ability  to  under 
stand  and  appreciate. 

In  more  recent  years  a  better  class  of  teachers  has 
required  pupils  to  memorize  only  the  substance  of  the 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  121 

thought,  neglecting  the  form  of  expression  in  the 
book.  They  have  often  even  discouraged  similarity 
between  the  language  of  the  child  and  that  of  the 
book,  hoping  thus  to  throw  the  chief  emphasis  upon 
the  thought  itself. 

A  third  class  of  teachers  also  require  only  the  gist 
of  the  lesson,  but  instead  of  employing  the  recitation 
period  for  a  mere  reproduction  of  the  thought,  they 
occupy  a  good  part  of  that  time  with  discussion,  so 
that  the  ideas  presented  in  the  book  may  be  compre- 
hended and  appreciated ;  for  example,  after  an  out- 
line of  facts  in  connection  with  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  has  been  committed  to  memory,  the  events 
are  discussed  in  detail  in  class  until  an  accurate  and 
vivid  picture  of  the  whole  is  constructed.  Likewise, 
after  the  definition  of  the  subject  of  the  sentence,  as 
presented  in  the  grammar,  has  been  carefully  studied, 
numerous  sentences  are  offered  by  the  children  and 
discussed  until  a  fair  understanding  of  the  matter  is 
reached. 

It  is  evident  that  this  way  of  using  text-books  is 
much  better  than  either  of  the  other  two  mentioned;  by 
it  a  greater  interest  is  awakened,  misconceptions  are 
corrected,  and  more  effective  knowledge  is  acquired. 

3.  The  developing  plan  of  teaching  is  one  radically 
different  from  the  lecture  and  the  text-book  methods. 
The  teacher  who  employs  it  lectures  but  little  to  her 
class,  although  it  is  important  to  remember  that  she 
does  tell  some  things  outright ;  neither  does  she 


122  METHOD   OF    RECITATION 

allow  the  facts  that  are  to  be  learned  to  be  first 
presented  through  a  text-book ;  she  prefers  to  de- 
velop facts  and  conclusions  by  conversation  with  the 
pupils.  The  nature  of  this  method  and  its  difference 
from  the  text-book  plan  were  suggested  in  Chapter 
II  on  illustrative  lessons  ;  other  examples  will  reveal 
its  characteristics  more  clearly  still.  Frye's  "  Primary 
Geography,"  page  108,  states  the  following  facts  in 
regard  to  the  British  Isles  :  — • 

"  In  the  British  Isles  there  are  vast  beds  of  coal 
and  iron.  Near  these  many  great  workshops  have 
been  built.  People  of  the  British  Isles  weave  into 
cloth  fully  one-third  of  the  raw  cotton  and  wool  raised 
in  the  world.  They  also  produce  one-third  of  the 
iron  and  steel.  Their  ships  carry  on  one-third  of  the 
commerce.  To  the  British  Isles  the  United  States 
sends  cotton,  grain,  meat,  tobacco,  copper,  and  many 
other  products.  Which  of  these  are  needed  for  the 
workshops  ?  Which  are  used  for  food  ?  The  British 
Isles  send  to  the  United  States  iron  and  steel  goods, 
cotton,  wool,  and  cloth,  silk,  and  many  other  articles 
from  the  workshop.  London,  on  the  Thames  River,  is 
the  chief  seaport  and  railroad  centre  of  the  British 
Isles.  It  is  the  largest  city  in  the  world.  The  greater 
part  of  the  trade  of  the  United  States  is  by  way  of 
Liverpool,  a  city  near  the  west  coast.  Scotland  is 
noted  for  its  iron  and  steel  ships.  They  are  built  on 
the  Clyde  River  near  Glasgow." 

The  text-book  method    allows    these    statements 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS    PRESENTED  123 

to  be  studied  before  the  recitation  period  begins, 
and  then  to  be  talked  over  in  class  until  they  are 
sufficiently  well  understood  and  impressed  upon  the 
mind.  In  the  developing  plan  the  book  would  not 
be  used  at  first;  the  following  might  be  the  nature 
of  the  conversation  that  takes  place  in  the  class, 
the  teacher  beginning  thus :  — 

Many  years  ago  it  was  discovered  that  there  was 
an  abundance  of  iron  ore  in  England  (showing 
where).  Also  a  great  quantity  of  coal  was  found  in 
certain  places  (use  map).  So  much  being  true,  what 
might  follow  ?  When  people  have  plenty  of  iron  ore 
and  coal,  they  can  make  pig-iron  and  all  sorts  of  things  • 
from  which  iron  is  made ;  for  instance,  nails,  screws, 
hatchets,  axes,  ploughs,  rails,  locomotives,  all  sorts  of 
machinery,  cutlery,  iron  ships,  etc.  What  effect 
would  that  have  upon  the  number  of  people  to  be 
found  in  the  region  where  these  manufactories  exist  ? 
Large  cities  would  spring  up.  Thus  Manchester, 
Leeds,  Sheffield,  Birmingham,  Nottingham,  and 
Glasgow,  which  you  will  find  on  the  map. 

Since  so  many  people  are  engaged  in  manufactur- 
ing, what  would  be  done  with  the  articles  that  they 
make?  They  cannot  use  them  all  at  home.  Then 
what  will  be  done  with  them  ?  Some  of  them  must 
be  sent  away  to  other  countries.  What,  then,  will 
be  some  of  the  exports  of  England  ?  Rails,  engines, 
etc.  Through  what  ports  would  they  be  likely  to 
leave  England  ?  (Examine  map  frequently.)  It 


124  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

would  depend  upon  the  direction  in  which  they 
were  to  be  sent.  If  to  Europe,  they  would  go  by 
way  of  Hull  or  London ;  if  to  America,  by  way  of 
Liverpool,  or  possibly  Bristol.  What  effect  would 
this  commerce  have  upon  the  size  of  these  ports? 

If  so  many  of  the  English  people  are  engaged  in 
manufacturing,  and  they  send  so  many  things  abroad 
to  America,  for  instance,  what  are  some  of  the  things 
that  they  are  likely  to  need  from  us  ?  Food.  What, 
therefore,  would  be  some  of  their  imports?  Grain, 
meat,  tobacco,  etc. 

But  England  is  an  excellent  country  for  grass. 
Can  you  tell  why?  Because  of  the  moist  atmos- 
phere and  frequent  rains.  A  considerable  part  of 
the  country,  too,  cannot  well  be  cultivated ;  can  you 
tell  why,  from  the  map  ?  It  is  too  hilly  and  rough 
in  the  west.  Yes,  also  in  places  it  is  too  swampy. 
In  many  of  these  regions  sheep  are  raised.  What 
is  likely  to  follow  from  that  fact  ?  Much  wool,  much 
manufacture  of  clothing,  since  coal  is  abundant. 
Hence,  increase  in  size  of  cities,  in  importance  of 
ports,  etc. ;  clothing  is  one  of  the  exports,  etc. 

All  of  this  conversation  could  best  take  place 
before  the  paragraph  in  the  book  is  assigned  as  a 
lesson. 

Take  an  example  from  literature ;  namely,  from 
the  story  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  Suppose  that  a 
point  in  the  story  has  been  reached  where  Rob- 
inson has  been  shipwrecked  and  is  lying  senseless 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  12$ 

upon  the  island  near  the  water's  edge.  If  the  reci- 
tation begins  at  that  point,  it  might  proceed  as 
follows  :  — 

When  Robinson  came  to  his  senses,  he  stood  up 
and  looked  about.  What  do  you  suppose  he  said 
to  himself  ?  "  Where  am  I  ? "  What  would  he  do 
then  ?  Recall  what  had  happened.  And  further  ? 
Hunt  for  his  companions.  How  would  he  hunt  for 
them  ?  Look  for  them.  And  ?  Walk  up  and  down 
the  shore.  More  than  that  ?  Shout  for  them.  Yes, 
but  he  did  not  find  them.  What  conclusion  would 
he  reach  ?  That  they  were  all  drowned.  How  do 
you  suppose  he  felt  ?  Very  sad.  Had  he  any  rea- 
son for  feeling  glad  ?  Yes.  What  ?  His  life  had 
been  saved.  How  might  he  show  that  he  was  glad  ? 
By  kneeling  down  and  offering  a  prayer  of  thanks- 
giving. And  that  is  what  he  did.  Then  what  would 
he  do  ?  He  would  hunt  for  other  people,  houses, 
etc.  He  did  so,  but  he  found  none.  As  time  passed, 
what  else  would  he  begin  to  think  about  ?  Something 
to  eat  and  drink.  What  could  he  hope  for  if  there 
were  no  people?  Some  wild  berries,  apples,  etc. 
Where  would  he  find  them  ?  Growing  in  the  woods, 
etc.  But  he  found  nothing.  Finally,  as  night  was 
coming  on,  what  would  he  begin  to  think  about? 
Where  he  might  stay  during  the  night.  And  where 
could  it  be  ?  He  might  sleep  on  the  ground.  But 
there  was  some  objection  to  that.  What  ?  He  was 
afraid  some  wild  animals  might  find  him.  What  else 


126  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

could  he  do  ?  Build  a  hut ;  go  into  a  cave ;  sleep  in 
a  tree,  etc.  Yes,  the  last  is  what  he  did.  What  kind 
of  a  tree  would  he  search  for,  etc.  ? 

Thus  the  story  may  be  taught  from  day  to  day, 
the  children  telling  what  might  reasonably  follow 
from  a  given  situation.  In  this  case  the  teacher 
needs  to  do  very  little  except  to  put  skilful  ques- 
tions based  upon  a  few  given  facts. 

Let  another  example  be  taken  from  history; 
namely,  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Suppose  that 
the  class  understands  that  the  British  are  shut  up 
within  the  city  of  Boston.  The  aim  might  be  to  see 
how  the  Americans  outwitted  the  British  and  nearly 
succeeded  in  driving  them  out  of  the  city.  We 
recall  the  situation  of  Boston  harbor,  the  Boston  and 
the  Charlestown  peninsulas,  etc.  The  teacher  then 
tells  the  class  that  there  was  a  hill  over  on  Charles- 
town  peninsula  which  overlooked  the  city.  The 
conversation  might  continue  as  follows  :  a  brilliant 
thought  occurred  to  the  Americans  in  connection 
with  this  hill ;  what  could  it  be  ?  That  they  would 
seize  it.  Why  ?  Because  if  they  had  possession  of 
it,  they  could  drive  out  the  British.  How?  They 
could  fire  down  onto  Boston.  But  would  they  destroy 
their  own  houses  ?  —  remember  they  built  Boston. 
Yes,  they  would,  if  it  were  necessary  in  order  to 
drive  out  the  British.  How  would  they  go  to  work 
to  carry  out  their  idea  ?  They  would  take  possession 
of  the  hill  quietly.  When?  By  night.  Describe 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS    PRESENTED 

how.  What  would  they  do  after  reaching  the  hill  ? 
They  would  throw  up  earthworks.  Describe  the 
earthworks.  What  question  have  you  to  put  in 
regard  to  the  British  when  it  came  morning  ?  "  How 
would  the  British  feel  when  they  looked  up  and  saw 
the  fortification  there?"  They  would  be  greatly 
surprised  and  excited.  What  could  they  do?  One 
of  two  things :  abandon  Boston,  or  capture  the 
fortification.  They  decided  to  do  the  latter :  how 
would  they  do  it  ?  Send  a  body  of  soldiers  over  to 
march  up  against  the  fortification.  This  was  done. 
As  the  British  marched  up  the  hill,  would  they  go 
slowly  or  rapidly,  and  why  ?  What  do  you  suppose 
the  people  over  in  Boston  were  doing  ?  Probably  as 
many  as  possible  were  up  on  the  tops  of  the  houses 
to  see  what  was  going  on.  The  British  stormed  the 
fortification,  but  were  repulsed.  How  do  you  sup- 
pose the  people  in  Boston  acted  when  they  saw 
that  ?  A  second  repulse  followed.  But  on  the 
third  charge  the  Americans'  powder  gave  out.  What 
would  follow?  Who  had  won  a  victory?  Why? 

This  latter  method  is  often  employed  in  such  a 
subject  as  language  work.  For  instance,  the  chil- 
dren desire  to  write  a  composition,  and  some  of  them 
are  inclined  to  omit  the  title  or  put  it  in  the  wrong 
place,  etc.  When  this  is  the  case,  the  following  con- 
versation might  take  place  :  — 

Ought  you  to  write  any  title  for  your  composition, 
or  not?  Yes.  Why?  Because  we  want  any  one 


128 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


who  reads  the  composition  to  know  what  it  is  written 
about.  Where  would  you  put  the  title  ?  At  the 
beginning.  Good;  just  where  would  you  place  it? 
Place  it  out  by  itself.  Why  ?  So  that  it  can  easily 
be  seen.  Good ;  what  kind  of  letters  would  you  use 
in  writing  it  ?  Large  letters.  Why  ?  Because  they 
are  plainer  and  can  be  more  easily  read,  and  so  on. 
Good. 

Facts  in  regard  to  paragraphing  and  use  of  capi- 
tals, periods,  margins,  etc.,  can  be  easily  developed 
in  the  same  way. 

The  developing  plan  has  now  been  illustrated  by 
examples  from  geography,  literature,  history,  and 
language  work.  Several  other  examples  are  suggested 
later  in  Chapter  XI.  Before  judging  the  relative 
merits  of  these  three  methods  of  teaching ;  namely, 
the  lecture,  the  text-book,  and  the  developing  methods, 
it  is  necessary  to  determine  a  standard  according  to 
which  the  worth  of  each  may  be  measured.  Happily 
this  standard  is  easily  obtained  from  suggestions  in 
the  preceding  pages.  Since  teaching  consists  in  fit- 
ting new  ideas,  feelings,  etc.,  to  those  that  are  already 
at  hand,  or  since  it  consists  in  dovetailing  the  new 
with  the  old,  or  adjusting  what  the  teacher  has  to 
give  to  what  is  already  in  the  child's  mind,  that 
method  will  prove  the  most  worthy  which  secures 
this  desired  adjustment  in  the  highest  degree. 

It  should  be  remembered  that,  if  the  adjustment 
has  taken  place  in  the  proper  manner,  the  good 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  129 

effects  must  show  themselves,  i.e.  interest  is  aroused, 
the  minds  of  the  pupils  are  active  in  producing 
thought,  they  themselves  even  have  questions  to  ask 
in  class,  and  in  expressing  thought  they  use  their 
own  words  rather  than  those  of  the  teacher  or  of  the 
text-book. 

Having  now  this  standard  of  values,  let  us  turn  to  This  stand- 
the  three  methods  presented.  Lecturing  ordinarily  "thTfirst 
consists  simply  in  offering  or  telling.  The  instructor  two  methods 
regards  the  mind  as  a  granary  or  storehouse,  and 
pours  into  it  the  desired  knowledge.  The  learner  is 
not  the  central  thought  of  the  teacher,  but  the  latter 
directs  his  attention  primarily  to  the  knowledge  that 
he  is  imparting.  Consequently  there  is  little  ten- 
dency to  adjust  the  new  knowledge  to  what  is  already 
present  in  the  pupils'  minds.  Past  experiences  count 
for  little.  Hence  this  method  does  not  arouse  a  high 
degree  of  interest  nor  lead  to  mental  life.  Teachers 
who  adopt  it  and  fall  into  the  habit  of  "  telling " 
most  of  the  facts  that  they  desire  to  be  learned,  are 
a  source  of  little  inspiration.  It  is  being  abandoned 
to  some  extent  even  in  our  colleges. 

The  text-book  plan  is  essentially  like  the  preced- 
ing. The  difference  lies  in  the  fact  that  books 
appeal  to  the  eye  by  the  printed  page,  while  the 
lecturer,  or  the  one  who  tells,  appeals  to  the  ear.  So 
far  as  the  adjustment  of  the  new  to  the  old  is  con- 
cerned, there  is  less  of  it  in  the  text-book  than  in  the 
lecture.  The  lecturer,  as  he  stands  before  his  class, 


I3O  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

necessarily  adapts  his  thoughts  somewhat  to  his 
individual  audience.  But  the  text-book  is  intended 
for  no  individual  audience.  Any  author  of  a  com- 
mon school  geography  writes  for  the  average  child 
in  the  United  States.  He  is  as  far  from  preparing 
the  text  for  a  certain  child,  or  for  the  children  in  a 
certain  community,  as  he  can  possibly  be. 

Nevertheless,  the  third  method  of  using  the  book, 
according  to  which  the  substance  of  the  text  is 
studied,  and  then  carefully  discussed  in  class,  greatly 
remedies  this  defect;  conversation  affords  opportu- 
nity for  calling  up  related  past  experiences,  correct- 
ing misconceptions,  etc.,  and  thus  the  new  becomes 
adjusted  to  the  old.  For  instance,  pupils  studying 
Barnes's  description  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  can 
discuss  it  in  class  until  they  see  a  vivid  picture,  or 
they  can  enlarge  upon  his  brief  statement  of  the 
causes  of  the  permanent  union  of  our  states  until 
they  have  really  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  situa- 
tion. 

Hence,  this  method  can  excite  interest  and  mental 
life,  leading  to  much  freedom  on  the  part  of  the 
children  or  students  in  conceiving  questions,  and  in 
using  their  own  language  in  the  expression  of  thought. 
Fuller  mean-  But  the  real  question  under  consideration  is,  What 
*s  ^Q  ^est  method  of  instruction  ?  While  this  use  of 


suggested  by  tne  text-book   accomplishes   much  good,  it  may  not 

arithmetic. 

be  the  best  method  there  is.     Indeed,  that  it  is  not 
ideal,  is  apparent  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  facts 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  131 

that  are  generally  accepted  in  the  teaching  of  mathe- 
matics. In  arithmetic,  for  example,  there  are  two 
parts  to  each  problem,  i.e.  the  answer,  and  the  pro- 
cess by  which  the  answer  is  reached.  Answers  in 
themselves  —  it  is  claimed  —  have  little  value;  the 
worth  of  the  study  lies,  first  of  all,  in  the  process  by 
which  they  are  obtained.  Further  than  that,  the 
thinking  necessary  for  the  discovery  of  the  right 
process,  must  be  done,  as  far  as  possible,  by  the 
pupil.  It  is  a  serious  violation  of  the  law  of  self- 
activity  to  tell  a  child  how  to  solve  a  problem ;  he 
must  solve  it  himself  if  he  is  to  be  much  benefited. 

Is  the  case  different  when  we  come  to  geography, 
literature,  history,  etc.  ?  That  these  branches  of 
knowledge  likewise  consist  of  problems  and  their 
answers,  cannot  be  doubted.  For  instance,  the  para- 
graph on  the  British  Isles,  quoted  above,  suggests 
several  important  ones,  such  as  the  following :  — 

How  would  the  presence  of  an  abundance  of  iron 
ore  and  coal  be  likely  to  affect  the  occupation  of  the 
English  people,  and  also  the  population  of  England  ? 
What  are  some  of  the  exports  likely  to  be  in  con- 
sequence ?  What  the  imports  ?  Why  should  England 
be  a  wool-producing  country  ? 

.  In  the  part  of  the  story  of  Robinson  Crusoe  that 
has  been  presented,  the  text  offers  the  answers  to  the 
several  questions :  — 

What  would  Robinson  first  say  to  himself  when  he 
came  to  his  senses  ?  What  would  he  then  do  ?  What 


132  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

conclusion  would  he  reach  in  regard  to  his  friends  ? 
How  would  he  feel  ?  Where  would  he  hunt  for  food  ? 
How  would  he  spend  the  night  ?  etc. 

The  text  in  the  history  discribing  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  likewise  answers  a  series  of  definite 
questions  :  — 

What  plan  to  outwit  the  British  might  well  come 
into  the  minds  of  the  Americans  when  they  began  to 
reflect  about  Bunker  Hill  ?  How  would  they  execute 
that  plan  ?  etc. 

Much  of  the  text  in  ordinary  school  books  presents 
answers  to  questions,  just  as  the  key  to  an  arithmetic 
presents  the  answers  to  problems.     Further  than  that, 
the  answers  to  such  questions  are  as  easy  of  solution 
on  the  part  of  children  as  ordinary  examples  in  arith- 
metic.    Why,  then,  should  the  value  of  arithmetic  be 
found  in  the  solution  of  problems,  while  that  of  these 
studies  is  confined  to  learning  the  answers  to  problems? 
Weakness  of       But  the   ordinary  text-book   method,  even  where 
method* re-      thorough  discussion  is  permitted,  does  not  allow  such 
veaied  by       liberty  to  the  pupil.     Instead  of  permitting  him  to 

this  standard.  ' 

weigh  problems  and  suggest  reasonable  solutions  for 
them,  it  offers  the  latter  to  him  outright  with  the 
expectation  that  they  be  comprehended  and  learned. 
One  result  of  this  defect  is  that  the  knowledge 
lacks  thoroughness  because  the  problems  themselves 
are  largely  omitted  from  thought.  It  is  a  very  easy 
matter  to  overlook  the  chief  questions  involved  in  a 
given  text.  For  instance,  the  author  recently  con- 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS    PRESENTED  133 

ducted  a  class  through  Herbert  Spencer's  "  Education."  Result  of  this 

weakness. 

When  the  first  chapter  discussing  "  What  knowledge 
is  of  most  worth "  was  finished,  the  students  were 
asked  to  state  the  important  questions  answered. 
One  of  the  most  prominent  thoughts  in  the  text  is  that, 
since  science  is  the  most  useful  kind  of  knowledge,  it 
should  constitute  the  curriculum.  This  seems  at  first 
sight  a  strange  and  narrow  conception  on  the  part  of 
Spencer,  and  has  aroused  much  opposition.  But  when 
we  understand  that  he  includes  very  nearly  all  the 
school  studies  under  the  term  science,  the  situation  is 
not  so  bad.  Undoubtedly  one  of  the  first  questions 
to  ask  in  this  case  is,  What  does  Spencer  mean  by 
science  ?  Without  conceiving  this  question  clearly,  one 
can  scarcely  realize  that  he  has  received  its  answer,  i.e. 
he  does  not  comprehend  what  is  said.  Yet  in  a  class 
of  eight  persons  who  average  ten  years  of  experience 
in  teaching,  only  one  seemed  to  have  grasped  it. 

Children  and  adults  are  alike  in  this  matter ;  they 
both  easily  omit  from  thought  the  questions  whose 
answers  they  are  supposed  to  be  receiving.  But  they 
should  see  each  problem,  and  they  should  even  pon- 
der its  solution  for  a  while  without  aid,  in  order  the 
more  fully  to  realize  what  the  question  is,  as  well  as 
their  own  weakness  or  need  in  disposing  of  it.  Then 
they  are  ready  for  real  appreciation  of  the  answer. 
For  example,  in  addition  of  fractions,  children  should 
for  some  time  face  the  questions,  Why  make  the 
fractions  alike  ?  and  How  do  it  ?  before  answers  are 


134  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

decided  upon  ;  otherwise  they  are  too  likely  to  learn 
the^teps  involved  in  the  method  without  being  much 
impressed  with  the  essential  thought  at  issue.  So, 
after  learning  that  England  produces  a  great  quantity 
of  iron  ore,  it  is  well  to  allow  the  class  a  certain  time 
to  consider  what  should  accompany  this  ore,  i,e.  coal, 
in  order  that  it  may  be  utilized ;  likewise  they  should 
be  given  time  to  reflect  upon  the  products  following 
from  iron  and  coal.  If,  before  they  have  had  time  to 
think,  they  are  told  that  iron  ore  cannot  be  worked 
without  coal,  and  that  the  two  used  together  can  pro- 
duce steel,  hatchets,  engines,  etc.,  they  are  in  danger 
of  accepting  the  facts  without  realizing  the  vital 
relationship  between  them  ;  in  that  case  they  omit  the 
best  part  of  the  thought.  In  brief,  if  we  zvant  to  make 
sure  of  real  appreciation  of  knowledge,  the  facts  offered 
must  come  as  answers  to  questions  that  have  been  con- 
sciously felt ;  only  in  this  way  can  a  close  adjustment 
of  the  new  to  the  old  be  assured. 

This  weak-  But  there  is  a  more  fundamental  fault  still  in  the 
false  concept  ordinary  use  of  texts.  When  a  lesson  is  assigned  in 
tion  of  child  a  book  and  then  carefully  discussed  in  class,  the 

nature.  ".  ,• 

tacit  assumption  is  that  the  work  of  the  pupil  is  to 
receive.  He  gets  what  he  can  by  his  own  study  of 
the  text,  then  the  instructor  quizzes  him  in  regard 
to  it  to  make  sure  that  he  receives  it  correctly  and 
that  he  receives  all  of  it.  Now,  is  it  true  that  the 
one  who  is  being  educated  is  chiefly  a  receiver  ?  Is 
that  a  high  conception  of  education  ?  Is  not  the 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  135 

child  normally  also  a  discoverer,  a  producer  ?  And 
should  not  the  best  method  make  abundant  provision 
for  self-expression,  for  outgoing,  originating  activity, 
as  well  as  for  passive  impression  ? 

Certainly  before  he  enters  school  the  child  is 
exceedingly  active  as  a  thinker;  he  conceives  an 
abundance  of  questions  and  as  many  answers ;  it 
often  seems,  at  least,  that  he  divides  his  time  about 
equally  between  questions  and  answers.  To  be  sure, 
he  receives  suggestions  of  all  sorts  from  persons 
about  him,  but  this  help  is  a  minor  factor  in  his 
mental  life ;  he  is  primarily  a  producer  of  thought. 
The  kindergarten  is  based  upon  this  truth,  and  the 
mission  of  the  instructor  there  is  not  to  tell  the  child 
facts,  so  much  as  to  prompt  him  to  produce  thoughts 
that  are  facts.  Thus  we  see  one's  employment  before 
he  enters  school  proper. 

After  one  leaves  school  and  enters  upon  adult  life, 
the  situation  is  not  changed.  No  matter  what  the 
position  may  be  that  he  takes,  he  is  still  not  mainly 
a  receiver.  Whether  he  becomes  a  teacher  or  a 
manufacturer  or  something  else,  his  first  duty  is  to 
conceive  clearly  what  the  problems  are  that  confront 
him.  Much  of  the  time  must  still  be  occupied  in 
thinking  questions.  The  teacher  must  ask  himself 
what  his  duties  are  toward  the  parents  of  his  chil- 
dren, toward  the  children  themselves  outside  of 
school,  toward  religious  work  in  his  community. 
He  must  ask  himself  if  he  intends  to  be  a  real 


136  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

student,  and,  if  so,  how  he  can  best  arrange  to  carry 
on  study,  etc.  The  manufacturer  must  go  over  his 
field  in  the  same  way,  mapping  out  the  problems. 
No  one  is  on  hand  to  tell  either  of  them  just  what 
questions  are  involved  in  his  peculiar  situation.  He 
may  receive  help  on  particular  points  from  various 
quarters.  Now  and  then  an  angry  parent  brings 
unexpected  light  as  to  a  teacher's  duty  in  a  certain 
direction.  But,  in  the  main,  each  individual  must 
depend  upon  himself  to  know  when  he  has  covered 
the  field  and  has  seen  all  of  the  important  problems 
involved  in  his  work.  If  some  of  them  are  omitted, 
he  must  suffer  in  consequence.  Many  a  business 
man  discovers  too  late  that  he  did  not  ask  himself 
questions  enough  in  regard  to  a  proposed  project;  he 
did  not  see  all  sides  of  it. 

After  the  problems  have  thus  been  marked  out 
in  thought,  the  solution  of  the  same  must  be  reached. 
Again,  each  one  must  depend  upon  himself ;  he  may 
receive  help  and  advice,  but  he  himself  must  decide 
whether  the  advice  is  good  or  not ;  he  must  do  his 
own  thinking  all  the  time,  and  his  success  is  depend- 
ent upon  the  care  and  completeness  with  which  it  is 
done. 

So  far,  then,  as  the  thought  side  of  adult  life  is 
concerned,  it  is  not  essentially  different  from  that 
of  the  child  :  each  spends  his  time  upon  problems 
and  their  answers ;  each,  though  he  receives  valuable 
facts  from  many  sources,  must  conceive  his  own 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED 

problems  and  his  own  answers.  We  find,  then,  that 
originality  is  natural  to  childhood  and  a  necessity  in 
adult  life ;  each  human  being  is  by  nature,  and  also 
must  be,  a  discoverer,  a  producer  of  thought. 

Now,  proper  preparation  for  life  requires  that  those 
good  qualities,  that  are  natural  and  necessary,  be  en- 
couraged by  training.  Does  the  school  now  lead  chil- 
dren to  conceive  questions  and  answers  abundantly  ? 
And,  if  not,  how  should  it  improve  its  methods  ? 

Suppose  that  a  boy  has  passed  through  many  text- 
books in  the  grades,  the  high  school,  and  college. 
Suppose,  even,  that  thorough  discussion  followed 
the  study  of  the  texts.  Has  he  received  abundant 
practice  in  mapping  out  the  chief  problems  neces- 
sary to  a  certain  topic  ?  Has  he  had  the  same 
practice  in  reaching  their  solutions  ?  And  is  he,  in 
consequence,  an  independent  thinker  ?  Ordinarily 
the  answer  must  be,  No !  Books  are  not  planned 
with  reference  to  this  thought.  The  ordinary  con- 
ception is  that  if  one  knows  plenty  of  facts,  he  will 
naturally  do  the  thinking  necessary  to  their  proper 
use  ;  hence,  the  books  offer  these  facts.  But  the 
result  is  that  the  learner  occupies  his  time  in  accept- 
ing ideas  of  other  people  rather  than  in  giving  forth 
ideas  that  have  originated  with  himself.  In  that 
way  education,  viewed  from  the  teacher's  side,  comes 
to  mean  putting  in,  pouring  in,  while  the  derivation 
of  the  word,  e  and  ducere,  means  to  draw  forth,  draw 
out.  The  learner,  then,  becoming  a  receiver,  is 


138  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

made  relatively  passive,  while  his  nature  and  the 
needs  of  life  require  that  he  be  intensely  active. 

A  hint  as  to  a  better  method  is  given  by  the  chil- 
dren themselves.  When  they  are  taken  to  a  museum 
to  see  Indian  relics,  or  when  they  are  allowed  to  wit- 
ness simple  experiments  in  physics,  they  dislike  hav- 
ing to  stand  back  and  merely  look  on ;  they  have  an 
insatiable  desire  to  touch  and  handle  the  relics,  to 
help  arrange  the  apparatus.  They  are  so  consti- 
tuted that  they  can  learn  better  if  they  are  allowed 
this  activity.  —  They  show  the  same  attitude  toward 
thought  materials.  That  is,  when  there  are  no  relics 
or  apparatus  present,  and  when  they  are  dealing  only 
with  thoughts  in  the  presence  of  their  teacher,  it  is 
still  unnatural  for  them  to  stand  back  and  merely 
behold  the  thoughts  that  she  or  the  book  presents ; 
they  want  to  join  in  and  help  in  the  production  of 
thought,  and  if  this  liberty  is  denied  them,  while  they 
may  learn  a  great  deal,  the  amount  is  not  what  it 
might  be,  and  is  not  welded  to  their  personalities 
as  it  should  be. 

Hence  the  conclusion  is  reached  that  even  the  text 
book  method  that  provides  for  much  discussion  is 
seriously  at  fault ;  it  contains  mainly  answers,  thereby 
largely  omitting  questions.  And  these  answers,  many 
of  which  the  child  could  discover  for  himself,  are 
furnished  to  him  before  he  has  been  allowed  time  to 
think  them  out  himself ;  it  is,  therefore,  a  systematic 
violation  of  the  law  of  self -activity.  But  in  order  to 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  139 

comprehend  thoughts,  or  to  adjust  the  new  to  the  old 
properly,  one  must  conceive  clearly  the  problems  in- 
volved, and  must  reach  these  problems  and  their  answers 
largely  through  his  own  effort,  i.e.  through  his  own 
self-activity.  Inasmuch  as  the  text-book  method  does 
not  fulfil  these  requirements,  it  does  not  secure  a  high 
degree  of  adjustment  of  the  new  to  the  old. 

The  third  method  under  discussion,  that  of  devel-  The  standard 
opment,  avoids  these  errors.  It  makes  both  problems  development 
and  answers  prominent,  and  it  puts  the  questions  to  method- 
the  child  before  their  answers  have  been  presented. 
More  than  that,  the  child  is  expected  to  conceive  these 
answers  himself;  he  is  systematically  required  to  make 
discoveries,  to  judge  what  might  reasonably  follow 
from  a  given  situation,  to  put  two  and  two  together 
and  declare  the  result.  Often,  too,  he  finds  it  pos- 
sible to  discover  the  leading  questions  involved,  as  well 
as  their  answers ;  he  must  often  state  what  should  be 
the  next  question  to  be  considered,  and  by  practice  in 
such  thinking  he  becomes  skilled  in  conceiving  both 
problems  and  their  solutions.  Thus  provision  is  made 
for  adjustment  of  the  new  to  the  old  by  the  large 
amount  of  self-activity  allowed. 

Another  valuable  feature  of  the  developing  method 
is  the  fact  that  it  provides  for  a  close  sequence  of 
thought.  Text-books  ordinarily  omit  many  of  the 
necessary  connecting  links  of  thought.  For  instance, 
most  text-books  in  United  States  history  do  not  state 
clearly  why  the  Americans  wanted  possession  of 


I4O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

» 

Bunker  Hill.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  the  fighting  was  removed  to  the  South,  but  books 
often  state  the  fact  of  removal  without  going  into 
details  and  reasons.  So  it  is  usually :  the  text  con- 
tains an  outline  of  events  or  leading  thoughts ;  it  is 
merely  a  text,  i.e.  it  presents  the  chief  topics  with- 
out building  the  connections  between  them.  It  lacks 
space  to  do  otherwise.  The  developing  plan,  how- 
ever, provides  for  short,  connected  steps  in  thought ; 
the  children  themselves  are  expected  to  take  the  steps, 
and  hence  there  cannot  be  broad  chasms  between 
them.  The  result  is  that  close  series  or  chains  of 
thought  are  established,  and  because  they  are  thus  so 
closely  connected  they  are  brought  into  intimate  rela- 
tion with  the  child's  way  of  thinking,  i.e.  the  new  is 
closely  adjusted  to  the  old. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  basis  for  the 
many  judgments  passed  by  pupils  is  their  past  expe- 
rience. Past  knowledge  furnishes  the  premises  from 
which  new  conclusions  are  drawn,  hence  the  relation 
of  the  new  to  the  old  is  close  indeed.  We  see  really 
the  spirit  of  the  first  or  preparatory  step  carried  into 
the  second ;  the  developing  or  conversational  method 
reveals  the  learner's  doubts  and  thus  makes  constant 
provision  for  adjusting  the  new  to  what  is  already 
present.  Of  course,  it  is  often  difficult  for  pupils  to 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  a  situation,  and  then  they 
make  ridiculous  blunders.  One  little  girl,  when 
asked  how  Robinson  Crusoe  might  secure  more  cloth- 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  14! 

ing,  suggested  that  he  would  telegraph  home.  But 
the  fact  that  the  other  children  laughed,  threw  the 
desired  emphasis  upon  the  constant  exercise  of  good 
judgment  or  good  sense.  But  when  pupils  do  enter 
into  the  situation,  they  not  only  conceive  reasonable 
answers  to  questions,  but,  as  said  above,  they  antici- 
pate the  questions  themselves.  For  instance,  in  the 
story  of  Crusoe,  thoughtful  pupils  will  name  many  of 
the  chief  topics  that  must  be  considered  long  before 
they  are  reached  in  the  actual  instruction.  They 
must  have  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  story  to  do 
this,  and  to  be  in  the  spirit  of  any  subject  means  real 
apperception. 

Experience  shows  that  the  developing  method  can 
excite  much  interest  and  thoughtfulness,  and  secure 
from  the  pupil  a  frank  expression  of  his  opinions  and 
doubts.  Indeed,  his  teachableness,  or  desire  to  reach 
the  truth  without  thought  of  self-exposure  and  artificial 
rewards,  is  admirable. 

Of  the  three  methods  of  teaching  under  discussion,  The  best  of 
this  last  is  undoubtedly  the  one  by  which  the  closest  Methods, 
adjustment  of  the  new  to  the  old  with  the  accompany- 
ing benefits  is  secured ;  it  is  consequently  the  best. 
This  is  the  method  that  was  employed  by  Socrates. 
He  was  convinced  that  the  human  mind  could  dis- 
cover much  truth  through  its  own  energies,  provided 
the  instructor  knew  how  to  guide  it  properly ;  accord- 
ingly, teaching  meant  to  him  not  the  telling  of  what 
the  instructor  knows,  but  rather  the  asking  of  such 


142  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

questions  as  will  call  up  previous  experience,  guide 
the  thought  of  the  student,  and  draw  him  out  (edu- 
cate) to  a  free  expression  of  his  own  ideas.  The  new 
conclusions  reached  in  the  course  of  the  conversation 
constituted  the  knowledge  acquired. 

Notwithstanding  the  superiority  of  the  develop- 
ing method,  some  facts  advise  strongly  against  any 
attempt  to  make  exclusive  use  of  it. 

Limitations  In  the  first  place,  not  everything  can  be  developed. 
Beyond  doubt  there  are  many  facts  in  every  study 
that  should  be  reached  through  discussion  rather 
than  told  outright.  But  there  are  also  many  in 
some  studies  that  could  not  possibly  be  so  reached ; 
and  there  are  others  that,  although  they  could  be 
developed  by  considerable  ingenuity,  are  better  told 
outright.  Hence,  any  one  who  makes  exclusive  use 
of  this  method  has  become  an  extremist. 

In  the  second  place,  this  is  an  extremely  difficult 
method  to  follow.  Just  as  the  sharpest  tools  must 
be  handled  with  the  greatest  care,  so  this  plan  of 
teaching  must  be  skilfully  applied,  otherwise  aston- 
ishingly meagre  results  or  even  serious  injury  may 
follow.  On  that  account  inexperienced  teachers 
should  not  attempt  to  make  use  of  it  exclusively, 
or  even  mainly ;  they  should  accustom  themselves 
to  it  slowly,  making  trial  of  their  strength  here  and 
there  as  opportunity  offers. 

Thirdly,  the  intellectual  treasures  of  the  past  lie 
locked  up  in  books.  Proper  school  training  unlocks 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  143 

this  storehouse  by  accustoming  one  to  their  intelli- 
gent use.  Hence,  books  must  be  in  constant  use 
in  the  schoolroom,  and  even  text-books  must  occupy 
a  prominent  place  there.  It  follows  from  these  facts 
that  neither  the  text-book  nor  the  developing  plan  is 
worthy  of  exclusive  adoption,  but  that  each  should  be 
accepted  to  some  extent.  The  former  is  especially 
necessary  to  primary  and  intermediate  grades.  For, 
if  children  in  these  early  years  learn  how  to  think 
through  oral  instruction,  they  can  carry  this  thinking 
power  over  into  books.  But  the  method  of  discus- 
sion is  also  greatly  needed  in  grammar  grades,  and, 
in  fact,  throughout  later  education. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  developing  method  HOW  the  text- 
convinces  us  that  the  right  kind  of  conversation  is  development 
the  best  means  of  thoroughly  welding  new  thoughts  methods  may 

•     •  ~  be  combined, 

and  feelings  to  those  already  in  the  child's  posses- 
sion, and  an  examination  of  text-books  shows  that 
they  tell  many  things  that  could  far  better  be  dis- 
covered by  the  children  without  the  aid  of  any  book. 
Hence,  conversation  for  the  sake  of  developing  facts 
should  be  prominent  in  all  school  instruction ;  and 
since  text-books,  if  used  to  introduce  the  topics, 
would  often  deprive  this  conversation  of  its  point, 
their  perusal  should  in  such  cases  follow  rather  than 
precede  the  discussion  itself.  The  last  statement  is 
a  very  important  one  indeed.  It  is  a  mistake  for  a 
history  text  to  introduce  a  class  to  the  French  and 
Indian  War  by  naming  the  "five  objective  points," 


144  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

when  the  class  itself,  by  taking  thought,  could  locate 
approximately  the  chief  points  where  fighting  would 
take  place.  Further,  if  children  are  prepared  for 
their  work,  they  know  that  fractions  must  be  alike 
before  they  can  be  added;  they  can  anticipate  some 
of  the  dangers  accompanying  Midas's  golden  touch ; 
they  can  state  many  of  the  evil  consequences  of  our 
lack  of  a  national  coinage  system.  In  such  cases  it 
is  well  to  pause  in  the  use  of  the  book  in  order  to 
give  them  time  to  conceive  their  own  thoughts  first, 
and  thus  do  original  thinking.  In  some  studies  reci- 
tation after  recitation  can  well  employ  only  the  de- 
veloping method ;  this  is  notably  the  case  with  Crusoe 
in  the  second  or  third  grade,  with  much  of  the  nature 
study  throughout  the  grades,  with  pedagogy  in  the 
university,  etc.  In  other  subjects,  as  in  history, 
geography,  arithmetic,  etc.,  where  text-books  are 
necessary,  discussion  can  both  precede  and  follow 
the  study  of  the  text  on  a  given  point;  in  either 
case  it  might  occupy  only  a  few  minutes,  or  a  whole 
recitation  period,  or  even  more,  according  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  subject-matter  and  the  ability  of  the  chil- 
dren and  of  the  teacher.  When  a  whole  chapter  has 
been  practically  developed  in  class,  it  is  still  well  to 
turn  to  the  book  in  order  to  review  and  summarize 
what  has  been  accomplished;  hence  the  book  is  of 
great  value  even  where  most  of  the  time  is  given  to 
development. 

From  these  remarks  it  is  clear  that  we  do  not 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS   PRESENTED  145 

advocate  using  the  book  entirely  or  giving  it  up 
entirely ;  on  the  contrary,  the  text-book  and  the  de- 
veloping method  can  be  employed  together  and 
alternate  with  each  other  as  occasion  demands. 
School  instruction  should  certainly  culminate  in 
the  ability  to  use  books  properly,  but  that  does  not 
necessitate  abundant  use  of  text-books,  especially 
early  in  school  life,  or  even  exclusively  at  any  time. 

One  defect  with  many  people  is  due  to  the  fact  How  the  use 
that  they  began  text-books  so  early  in  school  and  fol- 
lowed  them  so  closely  that  they  never  learned  to  dis-  ous- 
tinguish  their  own  thoughts  and  opinions  from  those 
of  books ;  in  fact,  they  are  scarcely  aware  that  they 
have  opinions  of  their  own.  Yet  one  of  the  prime 
requisites  in  judging  the  worth  of  books  is  a  con- 
sciousness of,  and  belief  in,  one's  own  opinions. 
Even  a  child  must  possess  the  intellectual  self-confi- 
dence of  a  critic  in  order  to  comprehend  and  weigh 
a  text,  and  this  requires  an  extensive  development  of 
the  self.  Nothing  is  more  striking  in  the  young  child 
than  this  native  self-respect.  He  rejects  whatever 
fails  to  appeal  to  his  own  good  sense,  though  he 
readily  submits  to  all  legitimate  authority.  Instead 
of  encouraging  this  natural  robustness,  which  is 
later  essential  to  true  scholarship,  the  school  often 
almost  extinguishes  it  by  the  weight  of  imposed  in- 
formation through  books.  Many  persons  would  be 
much  stronger  if  they  had  been  often  entirely  freed 
from  books  and  had  had  much  daily  exercise  in 

L 


146  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

expressing  their  own  thought  entirely  untrammelled 
by  remembrance  of  any  text.  With  children  espe- 
cially there  is  always  the  danger  that  an  extensive  use 
of  text-books  in  school  may  result  in  slavery  to  books 
or  loss  of  independence  in  thought,  rather  than  in  a 
mastery  of  books  and  ability  to  use  them  properly. 

The  above  considerations  are  particularly  important 
here  because  they  affect  one's  attitude  toward  discus- 
sion as  a  means  of  teaching.  Books  must  be  provided 
for ;  they  may  be  used  to  review  ground  covered  in 
conversation,  to  continue  investigation  of  topics  that 
have  been  already  introduced  and  partially  treated, 
or  finally,  among  older  pupils,  to  further  information 
and  increase  culture  generally.  But  from  what  has 
been  said,  discussion  should  be  prominent  in  all  good 
teaching,  from  the  kindergarten  through  the  uni- 
versity, for  it  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of  inde- 
pendence and  originality.  With  the  understanding, 
then,  that  the  developing  and  the  text-book  methods 
are  to  be  combined,  but  that  discussion  is  always  to 
be  prominent,  we  proceed  to  consider  how  the  latter 
might  be  conducted. 
Safeguards  Since,  as  declared  above,  it  is  by  no  means 

wln'derin  in  easv  to  ^eac^  a  discussion  properly,  some  of  the 
discussion,  general  rules  that  would  keep  it  within  bounds  and 
render  it  effective  are  necessary.  The  most  seri- 
ous danger  is  that  conversation  may  ivander,  so  that 
pupils  will  feel  lost  and  nothing  definite  will  be 
learned.  But  there  are  several  important  safeguards 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS    PRESENTED  147 

against  this  danger.  The  first  is  a  clearly  defined  aim 
stated  to  the  class.  If  both  teacher  and  pupils  set 
out  to  reach  an  end  definitely  fixed,  they  are  able  to 
measure  by  it  the  relevancy  of  any  thoughts  sug- 
gested. Quite  often  the  teacher  can  protect  herself, 
when  a  child  makes  a  suggestion  without  reference 
to  the  topic  under  treatment,  by  asking  the  class, 
"  What  did  we  set  out  to  accomplish  ?  Will  the 
suggestion  just  given  help  toward  that  end  ? "  If 
the  class  reply,  "  No,"  the  difficulty  is  immediately 
overcome.  Such  treatment  of  wandering  thoughts 
is  very  valuable,  too,  for  thereby  all  the  pupils  are 
drilled  in  measuring  the  relevancy  of  their  ideas. 
They  are  trained  to  select  with  care  the  suggestions 
that  may  prove  helpful — thus  their  judgment  is 
exercised  by  a  study  of  relative  values ;  hence  a 
clearly  stated  aim  is  of  worth  whether  we  wish  to 
occupy  only  ten  minutes  or  a  whole  recitation  period 
in  developing  one  or  more  thoughts. 

Aside  from  an  aim,  the  teacher  will  also  be  greatly 
aided  by  a  clear  outline  of  her  pivotal  questions.  If 
she  realizes  what  her  two  or  three  or  four  main  prob- 
lems are  for  a  thirty-minute  period,  she  has  practically 
three  or  four  sub-aims  in  mind,  and  they  will  keep  her 
upon  the  right  road  in  the  subdivisions  of  the  recita- 
tion, just  as  the  large  aim  for  the  entire  period  guides 
her  for  the  whole  recitation.  A  clear  statement  of 
the  leading  questions  on  a  given  subject  is  essential 
to  the  fullest  preparation  for  teaching  it.  Very  often 


148  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

good  instructors  prepare  for  class  work  by  arranging 
their  subject-matter  in  topics  and  designating  each 
by  an  appropriate  heading.  But  a  great  amount  of 
mdefiniteness  may  be  concealed  under  mere  headings. 
The  division  of  a  subject  into  topics,  with  a  suitable 
name  for  each,  can  be  made  by  one  who  possesses  no 
skill  whatever  as  a  teacher;  but  the  proper  wording 
of  the  corresponding  questions  that  would  actually  be 
put  in  class  cannot  be  given  by  such  a  person  —  that 
requires  an  intimate  knowledge  of  children's  interests, 
of  their  vocabulary,  etc.  This  means  that  the  method 
of  treating  a  subject  has  not  yet  been  determined 
when  one  has  decided  only  upon  his  topics.  Training 
teachers  in  the  model  departments  of  normal  schools 
receive  remarkably  little  information  about  the  actual 
method  to  be  employed  by  student  teachers,  when 
the  latter  present  to  them  only  a  careful  outline  of 
the  subject-matter  to  be  taught.  The  difficulty  here 
involved  has  been  already  suggested  in  the  discussion 
of  the  aim  of  the  recitation.  In  that  connection  it 
was  stated  that  the  aim  might  often  take  the  form  of 
a  question  or  problem,  and  it  was  shown  by  example 
how  difficult  it  was  to  find  a  suitable  wording  for  it. 
But,  as  in  the  case  of  the  aim,  so  here,  the  rightly 
worded  question  plants  a  topic  within  reach  of  the 
children,  within  their  experience  and  interest.  Here 
we  see  again  how  adjustment  of  the  new  to  the  old  is 
secured. 

An  example  may   make   the   matter  clearer.     In 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  149 

the  study  of  the  sugar  maple  the  chief  headings 
might  be  shape  of  tree,  root,  stem,  leaves,  etc.  Some 
of  the  minor  ones  might  be  the  color  and  form  of 
the  leaves,  the  density  of  shade,  the  superiority  of 
the  hard  maple  over  the  soft  maple,  etc.  But  with 
such  headings  little  preparation  has  been  made  for 
actual  teaching,  for  no  suggestion  is  given  thus  far 
as  to  how  these  matters  will  be  broached  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  children.  Since  the  facts  cannot  best  be 
told  to  them  outright,  some  question  must  be  con- 
ceived which  will  be  broad  enough  to  include  several 
facts  and  sufficiently  suggestive  to  provoke  thought. 
Let  this  be  the  one :  What  reasons  can  you  give  why 
the  hard  maple,  or  sugar  tree,  is  so  well  liked  by  us 
all  ?  The  replies  will  come  that  it  is  beautiful,  the 
color  of  the  leaves  is  so  green ;  also,  that  the  shape 
of  the  tree  is  pretty,  it  is  so  regular,  or  symmetrical. 
Further  than  that,  on  hot  summer  days  it  gives  an 
excellent  shade,  denser  than  that  of  many  trees,  for 
instance,  the  soft  maple.  This  is  partly  because  the 
leaves  grow  on  the  stems  in  the  middle  of  the  tree, 
as  well  as  outside  where  the  sun  can  easily  reach 
them.  Also,  the  tree  can  endure  more  than  many 
other  trees.  The  wood  is  harder  than  that  of  the 
soft  maple,  hence  the  name  hard  maple;  and  the 
tree  branches  differently  from  the  soft  maple,  so 
that  heavy  winds,  sleet,  etc.,  are  less  likely  to  break 
and  tear  it  to  pieces. 

If  this  part  of  the  recitation  proves  especially  in- 


I5O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

teresting  and  profitable,  it  is  to  a  great  degree  because 
the  leading  question  is  broad  enough  to  include  sev- 
eral answers  under  it,  and  is  so  stated  as  to  elicit 
much  thinking. 

Further  questions  might  be  the  following :  Where 
does  the  tree  get  its  food  ?  What  part  of  the  roots 
acts  as  mouths  for  receiving  the  food  ?  If  the  little 
hairs  are  so  important,  what  suggestion  would  you 
make  about  transplanting  the  trees  ?  Where,  then, 
could  the  water  be  best  poured  for  watering  trees  ? 
Why  are  these  roots  and  rootlets  so  knotty  and 
irregular  ?  Where  does  this  water  go  that  enters 
the  roots  ?  Through  what  part  of  the  trunk  does  it 
pass  ?  Why  are  the  leaves  so  thin  and  broad  ?  How 
can  the  leaves  prevent  too  much  evaporation  ?  Why 
are  the  petioles  of  different  lengths  ? 

The  fact  that  it  requires  very  careful  thinking  to 
word  such  questions  as  these,  even  after  one  is  well 
acquainted  with  his  subject-matter,  is  proof  that  they 
are  an  important  advance  upon  the  arrangement  of 
a  subject  by  mere  headings.  But  the  teacher  who 
aproaches  her  class  with  that  preparation,  i.e.  with 
her  questions  clearly  marked  out,  is  partly  protected 
from  wandering.  A  proper  question  requires  a  defi- 
nite answer,  while  both  the  amount  of  matter  included 
under  a  heading  and  its  nature  are  uncertain.  Con- 
sequently both  teacher  and  pupil  are  more  likely  in 
the  former  than  in  the  latter  case  to  know  when  they 
are  on  the  right  track  and  when  they  have  finished. 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  1$! 

A  third  important  safeguard  against  wandering  is 
closely  connected  with  this  one.  If  the  prominent 
questions  that  compose  the  outline  form  a  necessary 
sequence,  a  teacher  is  much  more  likely  to  be  re- 
minded at  the  right  time  of  what  ought  to  come  next 
than  would  otherwise  be  the  case.  A  great  law  of 
teaching  is  here  involved.  Applied  to  the  single  rec- 
itation, it  is  often  referred  to  as  the  law  of  sequence. 
According  to  it,  a  lesson  is  by  no  means  fully  pre- 
pared when  the  teacher  has  fixed  in  mind  several 
topics  that  she  wishes  to  cover ;  she  may  even  have 
stated  these  topics  in  the  form  of  definite  questions  ; 
but  preparation  is  still  very  defective  unless  these 
questions  are  brought  into  a  very  close  sequence, 
either  logical,  or  causal,  or  at  least  natural.  In  fol- 
lowing the  topical  method  in  United  States  history, 
teachers  often  take  the  events  of  an  administration 
as  the  chief  points  to  be  considered  ;  but  it  happens 
not  seldom  that  there  is  no  close  sequence  between 
these  points,  and  hence  the  law  of  sequence  is  violated. 
In  the  preceding  examples  of  the  developing  plan  of 
teaching,  the  leading  questions  in  regard  to  England, 
and  in  regard  to  the  sugar  tree,  were  arranged,  so 
far  as  possible,  with  reference  to  this  principle. 

Let  another  instance  illustrate  this  point  further. 
Suppose  the  fifth  grade  in  geography  has  learned 
that  a  very  large  part  of  Spain  consists  of  a  plateau 
with  low  land  around  the  edges ;  the  series  of  ques- 
tions following  may  form  a  close  sequence.  If  the 


I$2  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

plateau  is  so  high,  what  must  be  the  effect  upon  the 
moisture-laden  winds  that  rise  over  the  edge  of  the 
plateau  ?  Since  a  large  portion  of  the  rain  will  fall 
upon  the  edge  of  the  plateau,  what  about  the  interior 
of  this  highland  ?  If  little  rain  falls  upon  the  interior, 
what  about  the  size  of  the  rivers,  the  abundance  of 
grass,  of  woods  ?  If  the  rivers  are  small,  etc.,  what 
about  the  population  of  the  interior  ?  It  is  plain  how 
such  a  closely  connected  series  prevents  wandering ; 
for,  when  it  is  once  begun,  it  is  very  easy  to  proceed ; 
each  question  reminds  the  teacher,  and  often  the 
children,  of  the  thought  that  should  be  next  consid- 
ered, and  hence  there  is  little  temptation  to  wander. 
Thus  far  three  safeguards  have  been  suggested  to 
prevent  the  danger  of  wandering,  i.e.  a  clearly  fixed 
aim,  an  outline  of  topics  in  form  of  questions,  and  a 
close  sequence  among  the  questions.  The  presence  of 
this  aim  and  of  such  questions  in  sequence  invites 
both  teacher  and  pupils  to  measure  the  worth  of  all 
contributions  from  the  latter  and  to  reject  what  is  ir- 
relevant. 

How  reviews  In  addition  to  these  three  means  of  protection  it  is 
wandering  advisable  to  require  frequent  detailed  reviews  and 
summaries.  The  reviews  might  take  place  every 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  according  to  the  ability  of  the 
class  in  this  direction,  and  the  summaries  would  come 
less  often.  Reviews  and  summaries  call  for  reflec- 
tion in  regard  to  the  ground  that  has  been  covered ; 
and,  if  the  conversation  has  been  wandering,  the 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  153 

participants  are  likely  to  be  made  conscious  of  the 
fact.  The  instructor,  at  least,  will  be  placed  upon 
her  guard.  They  are  made  very  easy,  too,  if,  as  im- 
portant thoughts  were  presented,  brief  headings  for 
the  same  were  placed  upon  the  board.  Some  of  the 
better  scholars  should  first  be  called  upon  to  repro- 
duce all  that  they  can  without  interruption.  Then, 
after  necessary  corrections  are  made,  others  should 
follow  :  thus  the  demands  made  upon  each  are  tem- 
pered according  to  his  strength. 

A  very  important  principle  of  teaching  is  involved  why  sum- 

•  i  •  i    .,  •• .  ,  maries  are 

in  such  summaries,  and  it  applies  as  much  to  text-  especially 

book  instruction  as  to  the  developing   method.     In  imP°rtant- 

each  there  is  a  tendency  to  become  so  immersed  in 

details   that   general  bearings  and  larger  issues  are 

lost.     This  is  seen  in  history  classes  that  take  "  seven 

pages  in  advance  and  seven  in  review,"  but  never 

find   time   to   do   more   than   memorize   each    day's 

lesson ;  it  is  seen  in  all  studies  where  the  advance  is 

so  constant  that  students  do  not  halt  to  breathe  and 

look  about  them  to  see  the  main  steps  that  they  have 

taken.     This   principle   is   sometimes  known  as  the 

law  of  absorption  and  reflection.     According  to  that 

law  there  are  two  kinds  of  mental  activity  required 

in   study.     The  student  employs  the  first  when  he 

becomes  absorbed  in  the  study  of   individual   facts. 

He  gives  himself  to  certain  details  to  such  an  extent 

that  attention  is  entirely  withdrawn  from  other  groups 

of  ideas.     He  employs  the  second  when  he  withdraws 


154  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

his  attention  from  this  one  series  of  facts  and  directs 
it  to  a  much  wider  range  of  thought ;  when  he  rises 
high  enough  to  take  a  broad  survey  of  the  field  that 
he  is  studying  and  to  see  the  relationship  of  principal 
topics  to  one  another. 

In  travelling  one  often  crosses  a  valley,  then  ascends 
a  hill ;  one  crosses  another  valley,  and  then  ascends  a 
mountain,  etc.  There  are  heights  and  depths  in  study 
as  well  as  in  travel.  The  student  should  plunge  into 
details,  and  he  should  rise  again  to  a  point  where  he 
can  see  the  ground  that  he  has  covered,  both  that  of 
the  day,  and  often  that  of  the  preceding  week,  or 
month,  or  term ;  that  is,  he  should  rise  to  a  point 
where  he  can  secure  a  broad  view.  In  other  words, 
he  should  have  periods  of  absorption  and  of  reflec- 
tion, and  these  two  should  alternate  just  as  do  hills 
and  valleys.  In  any  recitation  period  provision 
should  be  made  for  this  variety  of  thinking,  so  that 
after  a  very  careful  study  of  details  a  general  survey 
of  the  whole  may  be  secured.  Summaries  should 
be  planned  in  accordance  with  this  demand.  If  the 
class  is  making  rapid  progress,  there  could  well  be 
two  or  three  summaries  within  thirty  minutes  as  the 
outcome  of  more  detailed  reviews.  By  that  means 
children  obtain  a  frequent  view  of  a  long  stretch  of 
the  road  that  they  are  pursuing,  and  thus  keep  in 
mind  both  the  general  direction  in  which  they  are 
travelling  and  the  principal  points  passed. 

This  law  of  absorption  and  reflection  is  sometimes 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  155 

called  the  law  of  mental  respiration.  Just  as  we  alter- 
nately inspire  air  and  then  expel  it,  so  absorption  in 
details  and  reflection  in  regard  to  them  should  alter- 
nate. The  perspective  thus  secured  affords  valuable 
aid  in  the  proper  classification  of  one's  knowledge. 
If,  after  having  studied  for  fifteen  minutes,  a  pupil  is 
required  to  give  a  heading  for  the  matter  covered 
and  to  recall  the  gist  of  the  thought ;  and  if  the  same 
thing  is  done  for  the  work  of  the  hour  as  a  whole,  for 
that  of  the  week,  month,  etc.,  —  if  this  is  done,  he  is 
allowed  to  withdraw  far  enough  from  particular  facts 
to  distinguish  which  are  relatively  unimportant  and 
which  are  of  the  greatest  value.  Ordinarily  in  the 
progress  of  the  study  of  details  there  is  not  sufficient 
opportunity  given  to  distinguish  their  relative  values. 
Children  are  too  immediately  occupied  with  them, 
that  is,  they  are  too  close  to  them.  But  when  at  fre- 
quent intervals  pupils  look  over  the  territory  travelled, 
they  have  an  excellent  opportunity  to  view  the  differ- 
ent points  in  the  right  proportion.  Thus  we  see  that 
the  classification  of  knowledge  is  secured  and  the 
danger  of  wandering  avoided  by  the  application  of 
this  law  of  absorption  and  reflection. 

But  in  all  teaching  where  attempts  are  made  to  Danger  of 
dispense,  to  a  considerable  degree,  with  textbooks,  f^fhef' 
there  is  danger  of  trying  to  develop  things  that  can  remedy, 
never  be  developed.     For   instance,  suppose  that  a 
teacher  remarks  to  a  class,  "  Let  us  talk  about  a  cer- 
tain  bird.      Can   you   tell   me  what  one  I  have  in 


156  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

mind?"  In  that  case  she  is  putting  to  the  children 
a  question  that  they  have  no  means  of  answering. 
They  may  name  all  the  birds  they  know  and  finally 
hit  the  right  one ;  but  it  is  not  instruction  in  which 
anything  is  unfolded  or  developed ;  it  is  no  real 
instruction  at  all,  but  only  an  injurious  exercise  in 
guessing.  But  the  conversational  plan  of  teaching 
aims  to  develop  the  judgment  of  pupils ;  hence  the 
questions  asked  must  be  of  such  a  nature  that  they 
may  reasonably  be  expected  to  answer  them.  If  the 
teacher  asks  the  third  grade  in  what  manner  Crusoe 
might  salt  the  rabbit  that  he  caught,  she  should  do 
so  with  the  belief  that  a  reasonable  amount  of  think- 
ing on  their  part  will  produce  a  certain  reasonable 
reply.  To  be  sure,  they  know  nothing  about  any  salt 
mine  on  the  island,  but  they  know  that  the  sea  is  salt, 
and  if  some  one  replies,  as  was  the  case  in  one  class, 
that  Robinson  would  dip  his  meat  into  the  salt  sea, 
or  that  he  would  allow  some  sea  water  to  evaporate 
and  use  the  salt  left,  the  answers  should  not  be  unex- 
pected by  the  instructor.  But  when  pupils  lack  data 
from  which  to  draw  a  reasonable  answer,  the  ques- 
tion should  not  be  given.  As  a  rule,  no  answer  should 
be  tolerated  for  which  a  fairly  good  reason  cannot  be 
offered.  We  see,  then,  that  the  developing  plan  is 
dangerous  in  that  it  very  easily  encourages  the  ten- 
dency to  guess,  and  thereby  encourages  thoughtless- 
ness instead  of  good  sense.  Where  teachers  are  in 
much  doubt  as  to  the  possibility  of  developing  a 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  157 

thought,  the  safer  plan  by  far  is  to  tell  it  frankly  or 
approach  it  through  a  lesson  assigned  in  a  book. 

A  careful  study  of  children  will  gradually  reveal  Precaution 
to  the  teacher  what  is  probably  capable  of  develop-  attempting  to 
ment.     In  times  past  teachers  have  undoubtedly  erred  devel°P  to° 

much. 

in  supposing  that  almost  everything  new  must  be 
given  to  the  child  in  order  to  be  comprehended  and 
learned ;  hence  their  immediate  resort  to  "  telling " 
and  to  text-books.  It  has  been  the  intention  in  the 
numerous  examples  given  above  to  show  that  much 
can  be  unfolded  through  conversation,  but  not  all. 
In  connection  with  England  the  fact  was  given 
that  an  abundance  of  coal  and  iron  ore  was  found 
in  that  country.  That  being  the  case,  it  was  asked 
what  might  follow.  The  children,  knowing  that 
Crusoe  had  been  shipwrecked  and  lay  senseless 
upon  an  island,  were  asked  what  he  would  be  likely 
to  say  and  do  when  he  came  to  his  senses  and  stood 
upon  his  feet.  It  was  told  to  the  class  that  a  hill 
unoccupied  by  either  the  British  or  the  Americans 
overlooked  the  city  of  Boston,  and  the  children  were 
asked  to  suggest  the  plan  that  might  occur  to  the 
Americans  in  regard  to  it.  Thus,  even  in  these 
instances,  although  many  things  can  be  developed, 
some  must  be  told.  In  other  topics  it  is  often  nec- 
essary to  tell  much  more  or  to  make  much  use  of  the 
text-book.  In  all  studies  the  teacher  must  see  that 
the  children  are  brought  into  possession  of  the  neces- 
sary facts,  before  they  are  required  to  put  these  facts 


158  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

together  in  order  to  work  out  a  solution.  It  is  a 
shrewd  teacher  who  can  discriminate  between  those 
truths  that  are  necessarily  preliminary  to  the  prob- 
lem, and  those  that  can  be  reasoned  out.  But  he  who 
disregards  this  distinction  is  in  danger  of  making  a 
farce  of  development  work.  Aside  from  all  this,  it 
is  well  to  remember  that  some  subjects,  such  as 
beginning  reading,  writing,  and  spelling,  are  arbi- 
trary or  conventional  in  nature,  and  on  that  account 
allow  only  a  small  amount  of  development. 

Although  it  is  often  declared  that  the  world  has 
made  its  progress  by  passing  from  one  extreme  to 
another,  yet  we  should  guard  against  going  from  the 
old  plan  of  telling  all  to  the  new  plan  of  developing 
all.  This  precaution  is  all  the  more  important  when 
the  fact  is  recalled  that  the  new  convert  to  the  devel- 
opment method  usually  makes  too  much  use  of  it. 
is  this  Some  teachers  oppose  the  conversational  method, 

siow?°d  *n  wn°le  or  m  Pai%  because  it  consumes  a  great  deal 
of  time,  or  is  too  slow.  They  argue  that  so  short  a 
time  is  spent  in  school  that  it  is  necessary  to  cover 
ground  much  more  rapidly.  But  let  us  see  what 
are  the  causes  of  this  slowness.  In  the  first  place, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  children  themselves  are  to  con- 
ceive some  of  the  problems  from  day  to  day  in  each 
study,  and  they  are  to  find  solutions  for  a  large 
number  of  them.  The  law  of  self-activity  requires 
that  they  do  this  work  rather  than  have  it  done  for 
them.  Hence,  although  it  occupies  much  time,  it  can- 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  1 59 

not  properly  be  omitted.  —  Second,  the  develop- 
ing plan  of  teaching  allows  the  expression  of  any 
doubts,  misconceptions,  objections,  etc.,  on  the  part  of 
the  children  or  students.  These  need  to  be  satisfied, 
or  shown  to  be  false.  That  also  takes  time,  but  the 
law  of  apperception  requires  time  for  such  things, 
in  order  that  the  new  may  really  be  welded  to  the  old 
in  a  proper  way.  The  destruction  of  wrong  notions 
is  just  as  necessary  a  part  of  good  instruction  as  the 
presentation  of  correct  ones,  although  the  former  is 
not  usually  summed  up  among  the  positive  benefits 
of  a  recitation.  Hence,  while  such  discussion  occu- 
pies much  time,  it  also  cannot  properly  be  omitted. 
—  Third,  the  developing  plan  requires  that  many 
links  be  inserted  in  the  chain  of  thought  that  would 
be  ordinarily  presented,  so  that  there  may  not  be 
any  broad  chasm  between  any  two  points.  The  law 
of  close  connection  or  close  sequence  in  thought  re- 
quires the  insertion  of  many  facts,  so  as  to  present 
a  situation  that  is  fully  and  easily  comprehended. 
Hence,  although  this  also  requires  much  time,  it  can- 
not properly  be  omitted. 

We  see,  then,  why  the  developing  plan  of  teaching 
requires  much  time,  for  these  points  mentioned  cover 
the  chief  characteristics  of  that  method.  But  which 
one  of  them  ought  to  be  omitted  in  order  to  save 
time  and  cover  ground  more  rapidly?  If  no  omis- 
sions are  in  place,  then  the  method  is  not  too  slow. 

To  be  sure,  compared  with  the  progress  ordinarily 


•    4 
l6O  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

whatthor-  made  by  the  text-book  method,  this  other  way  is 
mainland  extremely  slow.  But  any  one  will  admit  that  ordi- 
how  to  secure  nariiy  we  pass  over  subject-matter  altogether  too 
rapidly,  and  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  real  prog- 
ress is  to  be  measured  not  by  the  ground  appar- 
ently covered,  but  rather  by  what  the  child  actually 
gets  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  his  own.  Teachers 
are  too  often  inclined  to  hurry,  measuring  their  prog- 
ress by  the  amount  covered ;  but  if  the  rate  of 
progress  were  determined  by  what  the  child  really 
digests,  we  should  necessarily  proceed  very  much 
slower,  for  it  takes  a  large  amount  of  time  properly 
to  digest  a  single  important  thought.  This  can  be 
seen  from  the  fact  that  there  are  several  stages  in 
the  assimilation  of  a  thought  First,  it  must  be  seen 
clearly  from  a  single  side,  then  it  can  be  recalled  by 
the  memory  with  some  effort.  After  it  has  been 
seen  from  several  sides,  however,  one  really  begins 
to  feel  the  force  of  it ;  then  it  can  be  recalled  by  the 
memory  with  some  ease.  Only  after  it  has  been 
seen  from  many  sides  are  we  able  to  recall  it  with 
such  ease  and  feel  its  force  to  such  a  degree  that  we 
can  begin  to  use  it,  and  it  is  even  some  time  after 
that  before  we  begin  to  use  it  with  ease  and  feel  that 
it  is  fully  our  own.  Now,  much  instruction  consists 
in  giving  a  single  view  of  an  important  thought. 
That  is  seen  in  lectures.  A  lecturer  often  presents  a 
thought  clearly  in  a  few  sentences,  and  then  moves 
on.  An  attentive  audience  sees  the  thought  clearly 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS   PRESENTED  l6l 

for  an  instant,  and  then  something  else  takes  its 
place,  and  the  great  danger  is  that  even  in  an 
excellent  lecture  one  will  be  given  only  glimpses  of 
fine  things.  But  the  only  condition  under  which  any 
topic  is  really  digested  is  that  the  mind  dwell  upon  it 
for  a  long  time.  It  must  be  looked  at  from  one  side, 
and  then  another,  and  then  another.  It  must  be 
reflected  upon  at  length,  in  order  that  one  may  be- 
come saturated  with  it  so  that  it  seems  a  part  of  him. 
The  developing  plan  of  teaching,  by  allowing 
different  persons  to  be  heard  from  and  to  express 
their  thoughts  from  different  points  of  view,  provides 
the  necessary  time  for  the  mind  to  dwell  upon  a 
matter  and  see  it  in  various  lights ;  in  other  words,  it 
provides  for  real  digestion  of  thoughts.  When  we 
reflect  that  probably  nine-tenths  of  the  information 
acquired  in  school  is  forgotten,  and  that  only  a  por- 
tion of  the  remaining  one-tenth  has  really  been  di- 
gested in  such  a  way  as  to  be  a  power  within  us,  the 
need  of  a  slower  method  of  instruction  becomes 
apparent.  If  we  were  to  cover  ground  one-half  as 
fast,  and  spend  twice  as  much  thought  upon  a  topic, 
we  should  learn  much  more  effectively  than  we  do  at 
present.  Enlightened  teachers  generally  admit  this 
statement  as  a  fact,  but  they  are  controlled  by  the 
habits  of  the  past  when  it  comes  to  actual  instruction. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  developing  method 
is  slow,  but  that  is  the  kind  of  method  that  both 
children  and  teachers  need.  Since  the  ordinary 


1 62 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


Final  advice 
in  regard  to 
use  of  devek 
opment 
method. 


tendency  is  to  cover  ground  altogether  too  rapidly, 
any  method  which  puts  a  check  upon  teachers  and 
secures  greater  thoroughness  is  to  be  welcomed. 

The  main  objections  that  have  been  stated  to  an 
abundance  of  discussion  in  classes  of  all  ages  are  three, 
i.e.  the  tendencies  to  wander,  to  guess,  and  to  progress 
too  slowly.  Although  there  are  means  of  overcoming 
them,  the  objections  are  sufficiently  weighty  to  pre- 
vent the  majority  of  teachers  from  depending  mainly 
upon  conversation  as  a  means  of  reaching  new  knowl- 
edge. 

A  few  instructors  can  limit  themselves  almost 
wholly  to  that  method,  at  least  in  some  subjects,  and 
make  their  nearest  approach  to  ideal  teaching.  But 
such  effective  work  is  the  result  of  much  native 
ability  and  extensive  experience,  as  said  before.  It 
is  wise  for  the  majority  to  depend  in  large  measure 
upon  text-books  in  most  studies.  But  in  no  branch 
should  a  text  be  so  closely  followed  that  the  recitation 
period  is  spent  simply  in  reproducing  the  contents  of 
a  book  ;  that  is  slavish  work,  taxing  chiefly  the  mem- 
ory and  giving  no  guarantee  of  real  assimilation. 
Even  where  the  book  is  in  regular  use,  some  of  its 
statements  can  well  be  anticipated  and  developed  by 
conversation  before  they  are  assigned  in  the  book 
itself.  This  can  often  be  done  in  the  assignment  of 
the  lesson.  Many  other  statements  need  to  be  fol- 
lowed out  in  detail  far  beyond  the  meagre  account  in 
the  text.  Hence,  even  where  the  book  is  used,  the 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  163 

recitation  period  should  be  occupied,  not  with  cate- 
chetical questions  on  the  text,  but  with  discussions 
either  of  problems  whose  solution  will  be  found  in 
the  text  later,  or  of  statements  already  met  there, 
but  needing  much  amplification  in  order  to  be  ap- 
preciated. 

Since  discussion  is  to  play  so  prominent  a  part  in  Kindofques 
all  good  teaching,  it  is  well  to  realize  that  the  skill  p°"s  * 
required  in  conducting  it  is  shown  first  of  all  in  the 
value  of  the  questions  asked.  It  is  necessary,  there- 
fore, for  the  ambitious  teacher  to  become  a  careful 
student  of  the  art  of  questioning.  Especially  must 
she  consider  the  purpose  of  the  questions.  Ordina- 
rily they  aim  merely  to  test  the  presence  of  knowl- 
edge supposed  to  be  already  acquired  in  the  lesson 
assigned,  as  map  questions  in  geography.  But  those 
necessary  in  the  developing  method  cannot  aim  pri- 
marily to  test  memory  in  this  way ;  they  must  pro- 
voke thought  first  of  all.  Hence,  instead  of  catechetical 
questions,  or  others  that  can  be  fully  answered  by  a 
yes  or  a  no,  or  by  memorized  statements  in  the  book, 
those  are  to  be  put  which  are  suggestive  enough  to 
arouse  thought  and  broad  enough  to  call  for  even  a 
series  of  thoughts.  The  preceding  pages  offer  nu- 
merous examples  of  this  kind.  One  of  their  merits  is 
that,  while  they  provoke  or  stimulate  thought,  they 
at  the  same  time  test  the  presence  of  knowledge. 
Socrates  resorts  continually  to  questions  that  fulfil 
this  double  function.  In  his  conversations  with  young 


164  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

men  he  tests  what  they  know  while  spurring  them  on 
to  the  most  careful  thinking. 

vivid  mental       Throughout  this  chapter  we  have  been  consider- 
*n&  tne  metnocl  of  presenting  new  individual  notions 


securing         or  concrete  facts.     One   object   is  to  offer  them   in 

them. 

such  a  manner  that  a  vivid  picture  will  be  produced 
and  a  deep  interest  be  aroused.  This  demand  for 
vividness  should  ever  be  borne  in  mind  by  the 
teacher.  Children  should  practically  see  Minneapolis 
with  its  waterfall  and  flour  mills,  with  its  wheat  fields 
to  the  west,  and  its  farm  products  of  all  kinds  com- 
ing and  going.  Likewise  Midas,  and  his  little  daugh- 
ter coming  to  kiss  him  in  the  early  morning,  should 
stand  out  distinctly  before  them  ;  so  the  different 
stages  in  the  lives  of  certain  insects  should  be  accu- 
rately pictured  ;  and  the  several  colonies  quarrelling 
and  fighting  with  one  another  after  the  Revolution, 
should  appear  almost  as  clearly  as  disagreements  on 
the  playground  are  recalled.  The  developing  method, 
with  its  searching,  thought-provoking  questions,  is  to 
be  applied  to  this  end.  But  other  means,  also,  are 
to  be  kept  in  mind.  One  of  them  has  already  re- 
ceived emphasis;  namely,  the  past  related  experiences. 
Indeed,  the  developing  method  is  made  possible  only 
through  these. 

In  addition  to  these  means  it  is  important  to  pro- 
duce in  class,  so  far  as  possible,  the  object  talked  aboiit. 
It  has  taken  centuries  of  progress  to  realize  this 
need.  During  many  generations  following  Colum- 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  165 

t>us's  discovery  of  America  people  had  an  unlimited 
faith  in  the  power  of  words,  whether  the  words 
represented  familiar  ideas  or  not.  They  were  as 
far  removed  from  the  use  of  objects  as  they  could 
possibly  be.  They  even  ignored  the  mother-tongue 
in  approaching  a  foreign  language,  learning  Latin 
through  a  grammar  that  was  entirely  in  the  Latin 
language.  Finally  Comenius  advocated  pictures  illus- 
trating the  idea  symbolized  by  the  word,  and  in  con- 
sequence his  "  Orbus  Pictus,"  or  picture  book,  issued 
in  1657,  became  one  of  the  most  noted  school  books 
ever  published.  By  the  help  of  such  illustrations 
one  could  get  some  notion  of  the  object  mentioned, 
even  though  he  had  never  seen  it. 

Another  century  passed  before  Pestalozzi  was  born, 
who  partially  convinced  the  world  that  even  pictures 
were  inadequate  and  that  teachers  must  make  it  their 
practice  either  to  bring  things  into  the  schoolroom 
to  be  studied,  or  to  take  the  children  out  to  see  them. 
The  lesson  is  not  yet  half  learned,  but  here  and  there 
are  instructors  who  do  regularly  bring  insects  and 
flowers  into  the  school,  who  visit  museums  with  their 
classes,  and  even  go  on  lengthy  excursions  with 
them.  They  aim  to  make  not  only  their  nature  study 
but  other  studies  concrete  thereby ;  they  visit  museums 
to  see  historical  relics ;  they  make  excursions  to  see 
actual  valleys ;  they  use  objects  to  show  how  real  frac- 
tional units  can  be  added ;  they  do  all  this  in  order  to 
secure  living  pictures  of  what  is  studied.  There  is 


i66 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


as  much  difference  between  seeing  a  thing  and  merely 
hearing  about  it,  as  there  is  between  visiting  Paris 
and  listening  to  a  description  of  it. 

But  unfortunately  it  is  often  impossible  to  see  and 
handle  the  objects  themselves.  In  that  case  there 
are  several  partial  substitutes;  among  them  are 
models,  maps,  photographs,  and  lantern  slides.  Any 
school  could  make  a  valuable  collection  of  pictures 
by  simply  cutting  them  out  of  newspapers  and 
magazines ;  thus  water-falls,  industries,  beautiful 
views,  etc.,  could  be  presented  in  concrete  form. 

But  there  is  another  substitute  for  the  real  object 
that  is  especially  worthy  of  mention ;  it  is  an  abun- 
dance of  details.  To  be  sure,  there  is  often  a  strong 
objection  to  them,  for  there  is  a  kind  of  details  that 
is  a  useless  burden :  the  dates  of  most  battles,  the 
number  of  men  engaged  in  them,  the  bends  in  a 
river,  the  exact  height  of  mountains,  the  several 
uses  of  the  present  active  participle,  the  number  of 
seeds  in  an  apple,  the  degree  of  longitude  in  which 
most  towns  on  the  earth  are  situated,  are  fair  exam- 
ples. These  are  not  the  kind  meant.  There  is 
another  kind  that  is  really  essential,  and  it  is  illus- 
trated in  the  story  of  Crusoe,  where  little  incidents 
are  related  without  number  in  order  to  build  up  a 
vivid  picture ;  they  are  necessary  to  the  comprehen- 
sion of  Minneapolis  as  a  trade  centre,  for  one  must 
know  the  kinds  of  grain  shipped  into  the  city,  the 
many  railroads  carrying  it,  the  numerous  flour  mills 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  l6/ 

with  their  capacity,  etc.,  before  he  begins  to  see 
what  is  meant  by  trade  centre.  Many  detailed  events 
in  the  life  of  the  milkweed  butterfly  are  likewise  nec- 
essary before  one  can  get  a  right  conception  of  its 
metamorphosis. 

In  tracing  the  origin  of  our  constitution  it  is  in-  Need  of  welt 
sufficient  to  read  that  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Details. 
Connecticut  fell  into  disputes  and  threatened  war. 
We  want  to  know  what  they  quarrelled  about.  So 
it  is  not  enough  to  call  attention  merely  to  the  fact 
that  there  was  no  national  coinage,  and  hence  that 
trade  was  hindered ;  we  should  like  to  see  in  detail 
some  of  the  ways  in  which  it  was  hindered.  Only  by 
the  help  of  abundant  little  facts  are  we  likely  to  enter 
into  the  spirit  of  such  situations  and  understand  them 
properly.  These  details  are  trivial  in  themselves,  to 
be  sure ;  but  it  is  through  them  that  the  child  becomes 
so  absorbed  in  a  subject  that  he  fails  to  hear  you  when 
you  speak  to  him;  it  is  through  them  that  he  ap- 
proaches perfection  of  understanding  and  interest. 
The  point  to  be  emphasized  is  the  selection  of  the 
right  kind.  Those  should  be  chosen  that  are  es- 
sential to  a  clear,  attractive,  and  correct  picture. 
Those  that  are  irrelevant  to  this  end  should  be  cast 
aside.  The  biographer  omits  many  incidents  in  the 
life  of  his  hero,  because  they  contribute  little  to  any 
important  purpose,  but  he  depends  upon  others  to 
make  important  characteristics  clear  and  to  render 
the  biography  attractive.  The  popularity  of  Fiske's 


1  68  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

"  Critical  Period  in  American  History  "  is  due  largely 
to  its  exciting  details.  As  said,  then,  the  first  precaii- 
tion  to  exercise  is  to  select  the  details  witJi  care.  This 
being  recognized,  the  next  should  be  to  provide  an 
abundance  of  them.  Meagre  data  can  never  produce 
a  complete  notion,  but  a  great  number  of  them,  well 
chosen,  can  make  permanent  impressions. 

Motor  The   vividness   of   mental   pictures    is    dependent 

finally  upon  the  extent  to  which  thoughts  are  allowed 


securing         ^o  fincj  expression  in  physical  action.     During  the  first 

vivid  impres- 

sions. six  years  of  life  the  child  acquires  a  large  share  of  his 

education.  Each  year  he  probably  learns  more  than 
he  does  during  any  later  year  of  life,  not  excepting 
his  college  course.  What  are  the  means  by  which 
this  great  result  is  brought  about?  Two  character- 
istics of  these  six  years  are  especially  noticeable.  One 
is  that  he  is  almost  constantly  employing  his  mind. 
He  propounds  questions,  finds  their  solution,  makes 
observations  of  various  kinds,  etc.  But  during  all 
this  time  his  motor  activity  is  as  striking  as  his  mental 
life.  He  is  using  his  back,  neck,  legs,  arms,  hands, 
etc.,  as  freely  as  his  mind.  Undoubtedly  it  is  natural 
for  him  to  do  so.  He  is  so  constituted  that  if  he  did 
not  exercise  he  would  scarcely  be  able  to  contain  him- 
self. Hence  such  physical  action  may  be  considered 
restful.  But  it  is  more  than  that.  It  is  not  a  waste- 
ful activity  that  merely  accompanies  mental  action,  in 
an  unrelated  way,  but  it  aids  this  action,  it  helps  to- 
ward clearness  of  ideas.  By  dramatizing  the  scenes 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  169 

that  he  pictures,  by  doing  and  making  the  things  that 
he  imagines,  he  uses  two  means  of  expression  rather 
than  one ;  namely,  words  and  actions,  and  he  experi- 
ences a  richer  spiritual  life  in  consequence. 

All  this  being  true,  when  the  six-year-old  boy  enters 
school,  what  conception  should  be  entertained  of 
his  work  there  ?  Is  it  to  be  his  occupation  to  sit 
still  and  think?  Or  at  best,  does  learning  consist 
for  him  in  thinking,  in  free  exercise  of  the  muscles 
of  the  tongue,  and  of  those  of  the  hand  and  arm  in 
writing  and  figuring?  If  an  abundance  of  physical 
activity  was  characteristic  of  those  years  when  he 
learned  so  much,  and  if  it  was  a  necessary  means  to 
that  end,  why  should  not  provision  be  made  for  it 
in  the  school?  Why  should  not  the  method  of 
teaching,  throughout  the  grades,  provide  for  plenty 
of  motor  activity,  whose  immediate  purpose  shall 
be  to  contribute  to  vivid  imaging  and  to  mental 
growth  ? 

But  how  can  this  arrangement  be  effected  ?  In  the 
first  place,  one  can  plan  to  employ  the  hand  in  many 
kinds  of  subjects.  For  instance,  if  drawing  is  begun 
with  school  life,  children  can  learn  to  express  their 
thoughts  as  freely  with  chalk  as  with  words;  they 
will  illustrate  Hiawatha's  fight  with  the  sturgeon,  or 
the  interior  of  a  coal  mine,  without  the  slightest 
hesitation.  They  not  only  can  be  made  willing  to 
step  to  the  board  when  asked,  but  if  they  happen  to 
be  near  the  board  they  will  step  to  it  unconsciously 


I/O  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

when  words  seem  to  be  inadequate  to  express  the 
idea.  This  result,  too,  can  be  brought  about  not  by 
skilled  instruction  in  technical  drawing,  but  merely 
by  daily  practice  from  the  beginning  in  expressing 
all  kinds  of  thoughts  with  chalk  as  well  as  with 
words. 

Schools  are  already  somewhat  numerous  in  which 
this  kind  of  work  is  done,  and  their  number  can  be 
multiplied.  The  hands  can  be  further  employed  in 
shaping  clay  to  represent  such  objects  as  an  Eskimo 
hut,  or  in  using  sand  in  geography  work,  or  in  paint- 
ing a  beautiful  sunset,  or  in  making  objects  out  of 
paper  or  pasteboard  or  wood.  The  thoughts  repre- 
sented by  such  objects  can,  of  course,  be  expressed 
in  words,  but  if  in  addition  to  that  they  are  told 
through  the  work  of  the  hand,  clearer  perceptions 
are  obtained. 

In  the  second  place  it  is  often  just  as  easy  to 
employ  the  whole  body  as  the  hand  in  this  expressive 
action.  For  instance,  it  is  well  in  geography  for  a 
pupil,  instead  of  saying  simply  that  London  is  north- 
east of  New  York,  to  point  toward  it,  or,  better  still, 
to  walk  toward  it.  It  would  be  in  place  occasionally 
to  have  a  walking  exercise  in  the  geography  with 
such  questions  as  the  following :  Let  us  now  suppose 
ourselves  in  Paris,  will  you  walk  toward  London  ? 
Walk  toward  St.  Louis.  Toward  Rome.  Again, 
we  are  now  in  St.  Petersburg,  will  you  walk  toward 
Buffalo  ?  Toward  London,  etc.  ?  The  entire  class 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED  I /I 

may  be  asked  to  face  St.  Louis,  to  face  Duluth, 
Cincinnati,  etc.  During  this  exercise  there  is  no 
need  of  words  on  the  part  of  the  pupils,  they  can 
answer  the  questions  by  their  physical  actions.  Thus 
a  pleasant  variety  is  brought  into  the  work,  and  it 
is  a  more  thorough  way  of  answering  the  questions 
put  than  the  ordinary  way.  The  author  has  often 
found  that  both  children  and  teachers  who  know 
the  directions  in  their  locality  and  who  can  tell  the 
direction  of  Philadelphia  from  their  home,  must 
hesitate  before  they  can  walk  toward  Philadelphia. 
Without  doubt  this  is  due  partly  to  the  novelty  of 
the  request,  but  it  is  also  due  to  the  fact  that  a  fuller 
realization  of  the  direction  is  required  in  order  to 
walk  toward  a  point,  and  many  people  are  not  ac- 
customed to  mental  imaging  vivid  enough  to  meet 
the  demand  immediately. 

In  primary  reading  there  is  no  reason  why  a  child 
should  always  show  that  he  comprehends  a  thought 
by  expressing  it  in  words.  If  he  has  just  read  the 
sentence,  "The  door  was  opened,"  he  can  himself 
quietly  perform  that  action ;  many  good  teachers 
adopt  this  device.  In  several  studies  it  is  possible 
to  act  out  scenes  in  some  detail.  This  is  especially 
true  of  literature  and  history.  In  studying  the  life 
of  Columbus,  young  people  can  represent  how  Co- 
lumbus appeared  before  Queen  Isabella,  and  repro- 
duce the  supposed  conversation  between  him  and  the 
wise  men  of  Spain.  To  do  this  is  plainly  an  addi- 


1/2  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

tional  requirement  beyond  recalling  the  narrative 
from  memory,  but  it  is  done  in  some  schools,  and 
where  it  is  done  properly,  vivid  picturing  is  secured. 
The  author  is  acquainted  with  a  third  grade  that  had 
an  interesting  experience  of  this  kind  in  the  story  of 
Robinson  Crusoe,  When  the  point  was  reached  in 
the  narrative  where  Robinson  was  to  teach  Friday 
the  English  language,  Margaret  was  asked  to  repre- 
sent Robinson,  and  Richard,  Friday.  They  stepped 
out  before  the  class,  and  after  a  moment's  hesitation, 
Margaret  began  beating  herself  on  the  breast  and 
shouting  to  Friday,  "  I,  I  am  Robinson,  Robinson," 
then  she  pointed  to  Friday  and  said,  "  You,  Friday ; 
you,  Friday."  This  was  done  several  times,  but 
Friday  understood  his  r61e  sufficiently  well  to  grin 
discouragingly  and  make  a  grunting  noise.  Mar- 
garet then  saw  that  her  plan  was  not  succeeding  and 
concluded  to  try  another.  Casting  her  eyes  about 
her,  she  spied  the  sand  table  near  by,  and  seizing 
Friday  by  the  hand  she  hurried  him  to  it,  plunged 
her  hand  into  the  sand  and  shouted,  "  Sand,  sand," 
making  motions.  She  forced  him  also  to  take  some 
sand  into  his  hand,  and  speaking  the  word  herself, 
she  required  him  to  make  the  same  sound.  He 
attempted  it  and  succeeded  fairly  well.  From  that 
time  on  Friday  seemed  to  have  the  idea,  progress 
was  more  rapid,  and  in  a  few  more  minutes  several 
words  were  taught. 

Jn  literature  and  history  it  is  very  often  possible 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS    PRESENTED  1/3 

to  find  a  portion  of  a  narrative  which  can  be  nicely 
illustrated  in  this  way.  Of  course  there  is  unneces- 
sary loss  of  time  if  much  care  is  taken  to  give  regu- 
lar drill  in  presenting  a  given  scene.  What  is 
required  is  simply  impromptu  representation  of  any 
scene,  nothing  more. 

One  proof  that  such  teaching  secures  especially  Proofofvaiue 
vivid  pictures  is  the  fact  that  children  taught  in 
this  way  are  peculiarly  free  from  self-consciousness ; 
that  is,  they  must  so  fully  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
situations  that  they  forget  themselves.  This  is  a  mat- 
ter worthy  of  careful  consideration  on  the  part  of 
teachers.  Further  than  that,  by  acting  out  thoughts 
children  really  get  possession  of  knowledge  more 
fully.  If  instead  of  ending  with  words  in  regard  to 
a  topic,  they  close  with  actions,  they  feel  that  the 
ideas  are  more  fully  their  possession,  which  means 
that  they  feel  self -confidence  in  regard  to  their  knowl- 
edge. The  presence  of  such  self-confidence  is  itself 
another  proof  that  the  picturing  is  vivid,  for  this  con- 
fidence is  lacking  where  situations  are  not  clearly 
imaged.  It  is,  therefore,  an  important  test  of  method 
to  inquire  to  what  extent  the  teacher  provides  for 
motor  activity  as  a  means  of  producing  vivid  impres- 
sions. 

There  are,  then,  four  prominent  factors  to  be 
attended  to  when  vivid  picturing  is  desired :  past 
related  experiences  are  to  be  appealed  to  in  abun- 
dance ;  the  objects  studied  are,  just  as  far  as  pos- 


1/4  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

sible,  to  be  seen  and  handled  ;  a  large  number  of 
carefully  selected  details  are  to  be  offered,  and  pro- 
vision  is  to  be  made  for  physical  expression  of 
thought.  By  careful  attention  to  these  factors  it  is 
possible  to  present  facts  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
pupil  enters  into  their  spirit  so  as  to  seem  to  experi- 
ence them  himself ;  he  then  feels  himself  among,  or 
in  the  midst  of  them ;  or,  in  other  words,  is  inter- 
ested (inter  esse,  to  be  among  or  between  or  in  the 
midst  of).  This  interest  is  necessary  if  knowledge 
is  to  be  really  digested  and  become  a  source  of 
power. 

When  review  The  teacher's  practice  in  regard  to  reviews  is  one 
very  valuable  test  of  his  skill  and  insight.  It  was  a 
favorite  maxim  of  the  Jesuits  that,  "  Repetition  is 
the  mother  of  studies,"  and  the  extent  to  which  they 
applied  it  is  astonishing.  Every  lesson  began  with  a 
review  of  the  preceding  lesson,  and  ended  with  the 
review  of  that  which  was  just  covered.  Besides 
this,  one  day  a  week  was  devoted  entirely  to  repeti- 
tion. In  the  three  lowest  grades,  also,  the  second 
half  of  each  year  was  spent  in  reviewing  what  had  been 
taught  during  the  first  half.  Probably  modern  edu- 
cators would  agree  with  them  in  the  importance  that 
they  attached  to  review ;  at  least  it  should  certainly 
occupy  much  time.  But  modern  educators  would 
disagree  with  them  radically  as  to  the  way  in  which 
it  should  be  conducted. 

To-day  repetition  and  review  are  by  no  means  fully 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS   PRESENTED  1/5 

synonymous  terms.  On  some  occasions  mere  repeti- 
tion, or  reproduction  of  thoughts  substantially  in  the 
way  in  which  they  were  first  taught,  is  entirely  in 
place.  For  instance,  the  one,  two,  or  three  reviews 
and  summaries  that  have  been  suggested  (p.  152)  as 
desirable  in  each  recitation  may  practically  amount 
to  a  repetition  of  the  facts  presented.  Such  repeti- 
tion may  also  be  in  place  at  the  beginning  of  a 
recitation  when  work  is  called  for  that  was  accom- 
plished on  the  previous  day.  It  is  advisable  to  recall 
subject-matter  for  a  few  times  in  much  the  same 
manner  in  which  it  was  originally  taught;  that  is, 
practically  the  same  questions  and  the  same  answers 
may  be  repeated  until  facts  become  well  fixed  for  the 
first  time. 

But  before  knowledge  is  really  digested,  it  is  wherein  re- 
necessary  to  fix  it  in  mind  many  times.  Mere  ^^5 weak! 
repetition  cannot  do  this  in  the  right  way ;  what  is 
needed  is  a  new  adjustment  of  a  thought  to  our 
usual  way  of  thinking,  then  another  and  another, 
etc.,  until  it  becomes  welded  to  our  personality  on 
many  sides.  Repetition  usually  signifies  verbatim 
reproduction ;  or,  if  not  that,  something  so  closely 
akin  to  it  that  mainly  memory,  and  not  reason,  is 
appealed  to.  It  requires  that  the  same  route  be 
followed  that  was  originally  travelled,  and  hence 
always  approaches  knowledge  from  the  same  side. 
This  is  what  the  Jesuits  did,  and  it  is  largely  what 
was  done  in  the  term  reviews  so  common  in  this 


1/6  METHOD   OF    RECITATION 

country  only  a  few  years  ago.  It  was  the  custom 
then  to  set  aside  the  last  two  or  three  weeks  of  the 
term  for  a  review  of  all  the  matter  that  had  been 
taught  during  the  term.  This  was  the  practice  not 
only  in  the  common  schools,  but  in  the  normals  and 
colleges  as  well.  On  such  occasions  so  much  was 
assigned  for  each  lesson  that  there  was  no  hope  of 
studying  it  so  thoroughly  as  the  first  time  it  was 
covered.  Indeed,  that  was  not  the  object;  the  aim 
was  rather  to  take  a  rapid  view  of  all  the  ground 
traversed  in  the  belief  that  one  more  look,  though 
not  a  careful  one,  would  greatly  aid  in  fixing  the 
facts  permanently  in  mind.  It  was  mainly  a  hurried 
repetition.  But  what  stultifying  work  !  Two,  three 
weeks  consumed  at  the  close  of  each  term  without 
pretence  of  reaching  new  thoughts,  or  of  reviewing 
old  ones  in  a  new  light,  but  with  the  sole  object  of 
impressing  the  memory !  There  was  certainly  no 
inspiration  to  the  pupil  in  that  kind  of  work,  or  to 
the  teacher,  either.  But,  aside  from  that,  there  was 
little  profit  for  the  pains ;  the  aim  was  a  narrow  one, 
and  it  was  very  poorly  attained.  When  a  review 
degenerates  into  a  mere  drill  by  repeating  knowledge 
in  the  same  form  in  which  it  was  first  acquired,  it 
makes  little  impression  upon  the  memory  itself,  and 
the  hammering  must  be  kept  up  a  long  while  before 
it  will  tell.  It  was  a  narrow  aim,  too,  because  even 
after  one  has  learned  a  thing  so  well  that  he  can 
say  it  in  his  sleep,  he  has  no  proof  that  he  knows 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS    PRESENTED 

it  so  thoroughly  that  he  will  be  conscious  that  he 
has  it  when  it  is  needed.  The  world  is  full  of  peo- 
ple who  need  to  be  told  when  to  use  their  knowledge, 
even  though  they  have  learned  it  by  heart. 

Reviews  should  aim  to  be  much  more  than  mere  Purpose  and 
drills  for  the  memory.     They  should  aim  to  put  the  principal 
child  into  the  possession  of  facts  for  use  by  causing  kmdof 
him  to  approach  them  from  as  many  sides  as  possible. 
No  one  who  has  thought  of  a  point  in  only  one  way 
has  real  control  of  it ;  if  he  has  repeated  it  a  great 
many  times,  he  has  perhaps  fallen  into  a  rut  rather 
than    gotten    a  broad    understanding    of    it.       The 
world  does  not  necessarily,  in  fact  does  not  usually, 
adopt   the   one    approach    to    a   thought   that    was 
taught  in  school ;    hence,  the  school  should  prepare 
for  the   world    by  leading   the   pupil    to  one  point 
from  many  directions.      Repetition  is  then  only  one 
kind  of  review,  and  an  exceedingly  narrow  one  at 
that. 

Reviews  in  the  main  should  mean  a  new  view  of  an 
old  thought,  or  a  view  from  a  new  position.  This  kind 
has  already  been  partly  provided  for  by  the  preceding 
step,  for,  in  the  acquisition  of  individual  notions,  it 
was  shown  to  be  important  to  collect  the  past  related 
experiences.  Such  a  review  can  be  further  secured 
in  the  presentation  of  the  new  material,  provided 
teachers  can  find  sufficient  energy  to  throw  away 
questions  that  have  become  somewhat  worn  from 
use,  and  think  new  ones.  Any  important  topic, 


1/8  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

when  once  taught,  should  be  recalled  many  and 
many  times,  and  the  questions  referring  to  it  should 
be  stated  in  all  possible  forms,  so  that  it  can  be  seen 
from  one  side,  then  another,  and  another,  etc.  A 
mountain  does  not  appear  the  same  on  one  side  as  on 
another,  and  he  who  has  observed  it  closely  from  one 
point  may  fail  entirely  to  recognize  it  when  viewed 
from  a  different  position.  The  same  is  true  of  ob- 
jects of  knowledge  in  all  subjects. 

It  often  happens  that  a  mere  change  of  the  word- 
ing of  the  question  utterly  confuses  an  intelligent 
class.  The  author  was  once  acquainted  with  a  sen- 
ior class  in  a  state  university  who,  in  their  study  of 
pedagogy,  had  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  devel- 
opment of  good  character  was  the  chief  purpose  of 
the  public  school.  The  matter  had  been  discussed  at 
length  until  they  seemed  clear  in  their  conception  of 
good  character  and  well  grounded  in  their  reasons 
for  giving  it  such  prominence.  One  day  shortly  after 
this  result  had  been  reached,  the  statement  was  made 
to  them,  "The  superintendent  of  schools  of  one  of 
our  largest  cities  recently  remarked  that  the  chief 
object  of  the  first  three  years  of  school  is  to  teach  chil- 
dren to  read.  Would  you  agree  with  him  or  not  ? " 
The  reply  came  unanimously  that  they  would.  The 
matter  was  then  carefully  discussed,  and  they  saw  that 
in  this  case  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  was  set  up 
as  the  highest  purpose  of  the  primary  grades  while 
they  had  asserted  that  it  should  be  the  development 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS    PRESENTED 

of  character.  They  acknowledged  their  inconsist- 
ency and  withdrew  their  assent  to  the  superintend- 
ent's remark. 

Again  soon  afterward  they  were  tested  on  the  same 
point,  as  follows :  "  A  mother  often  says  to  her  little 
child,  *  Did  you  have  your  reading  lesson  to-day  ? ' 
And  if  she  is  convinced  that  he  did  have  it,  she  feels 
quite  satisfied  as  to  the  success  of  the  school  so  far 
as  her  child  is  concerned.  Is  she  quite  right  ? "  The 
reply  came  that  she  was,  in  spite  of  previous  conclu- 
sions to  the  contrary.1 

These  are  merely  examples  showing  how,  after  a 
question  had  been  settled  not  only  once  but  even 
several  times,  a  query  somewhat  different  from  those 
already  presented  will  prove  that  it  is  not -yet  by  any 
means  really  settled  or  brought  into  relation  to  other 
kinds  of  experience.  It  is  largely  because  matters 
have  been  reviewed  in  only  one  way,  from  one  point  of 
view,  that  strangers,  who  have  different  ways  of  look- 
ing at  things  from  the  teacher,  receive  no  replies,  or 

JThe  author  was  recently  discussing  the  relative  value  of  studies 
with  a  class  of  twenty-five  persons  who  averaged  about  ten  years  of  ex- 
perience in  teaching.  Nearly  one  entire  recitation  period  was  devoted 
to  that  topic.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  class  to  receive  a  few  questions, 
at  the  beginning  of  each  hour,  that  bore  upon  any  of  the  preceding 
work  of  the  year.  Accordingly  the  next  day  after  the  recitation  men- 
tioned the  question  put  was,  Have  we  at  any  time  during  this  year 
discussed  the  problem,  What  knowledge  is  of  most  worth?  The  unani- 
mous reply  was  that  we  had  never  considered  it.  In  like  manner 
children  often  '•  haven't  yet  had  "  a  topic  which  has  already  been  "  had  " 
and  finished  by  them. 


ISO  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

very  ridiculous  ones,  when  examining  school  children. 
If  there  were  usually  an  element  of  newness  in  the  re- 
views, so  that  they  might  be  distinguished  from  mere 
drills  and  repetitions  by  taxing  the  thinking  power,  they 
would  prove  more  interesting  2C&&  thereby  make  a  deeper 
impression  upon  the  memory;  they  would  also  lead 
to  greater  thoroughness  of  knowledge  and  thus  largely 
eliminate  such  discouraging  answers  as  the  above. 
Amount  of  There  is  no  desire  expressed  here  to  dimmish  the 
review.1"  amount  of  time  devoted  to  reviews.  The  great  dan- 
ger is  that  they  will  receive  altogether  too  little 
rather  than  too  much  attention.  On  the  average 
probably  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  time  in 
school  should  be  spent  in  considering  topics  that 
have  already  been  studied.  It  occupies  much  time 
to  recall  the  old  related  experiences  in  approaching 
a  new  topic  and  in  following  the  developing  method ; 
it  consumes  much  more,  as  will  appear  later,  to  com- 
pare facts  already  studied,  with  the  object  of  finding 
similarities  and  differences  and  essentials ;  it  takes 
more  still  to  review  old  knowledge  by  applying  it, 
until  it  becomes  one's  own ;  when  all  this  is  done 
and  when,  in  addition  to  it,  time  has  been  taken  for 
proper  repetition,  and  for  review  by  numerous  ques- 
tions put  from  new  points  of  view,  one  will  find  that 
easily  one-half  of  the  teaching  time  has  been  con- 
sumed. But  the  time  for  review  should  not  come 
mainly  toward  the  close  of  the  term  —  it  should  be 
distributed  throughout  the  term,  every  recitation  con- 


INDIVIDUAL    NOTIONS   PRESENTED  l8l 

taining  some  of  it.  Only  in  that  way  can  a  student 
become  so  familiar  with  thoughts  that  he  has  his 
bearings  in  regard  to  them,  no  matter  from  what  side 
he  may  be  approached. 

One  of  the  important  parts  of  any  recitation  con-  Assignment 
sists  in  the  assignment  of  the  lesson  for  the  next  day, 
In  case  the  developing  method  is  employed,  the  aim 
of  the  next  period  should  be  clearly  stated  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  recitation,  and  when  the  next  period 
arrives,  that  aim  should  be  recalled.  In  the  mean- 
time the  pupils  can  be  held  for  careful  reflection  on 
what  was  last  accomplished,  so  as  to  reproduce  it 
correctly  and  with  ease. 

In  case  a  text-book  is  used,  sufficient  time  should 
be  taken  toward  the  close  of  each  recitation  to  state 
the  aim  for  the  next  period,  and  to  allow  at  least  the 
preparatory  step,  so  that  the  class  may  approach  the 
text  at  home  in  an  apperceiving  mood.  It  is  impor- 
tant' that  this  preparation  be  completed  before  the 
text  itself  be  discussed. 

But  whatever  method  be  employed,  all  that  has 
been  heretofore  said  about  the  importance  of  fixing 
a  definite  aim  applies  to  the  assignment  of  the  next 
lesson.  If  a  clearly  defined  object  is  a  necessary 
condition  of  valuable  study  in  the  presence  of  the 
teacher  and  with  his  help,  it  is  all  the  more  evident 
that  when  left  to  study  at  home  by  themselves  chil- 
dren will  waste  much  of  their  time  unless  guided  by  a 
clearly  defined  purpose  in  each  lesson. 


1 82  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

Amount  of          The  time  necessary  for  the  second  step  varies  in- 
time  neces-  _ 
sary  for  the     definitely.     Sometimes  it  may  not  occupy  more  than 

second  stage.  flfteen  minutes.  But  when  it  is  remembered  that  it 
deals  with  individual  notions  and  must  furnish  as 
many  of  them  as  are  necessary,  as  data,  for  reaching 
a  generalization,  often  a  broad  one  too,  it  is  evident 
that  it  may  occupy  many  recitation  periods.  Eight 
or  ten  recitations  are  usually  required  to  teach  the 
story  of  the  Discontented  Pine  Tree.  One  period 
is  necessary  for  the  first  step,  then  five  or  six  for  the 
narrative  itself  or  the  second  step,  and  the  other 
three  for  the  general  truth  and  its  application.  It 
would  take  fully  as  much  time  for  the  Golden  Touch 
in  the  third  or  fourth  grade.  Several  individual 
trade  centres  should  be  studied  somewhat  in  detail 
before  the  generalization,  trade  centre,  could  be 
reached.  Minneapolis  as  the  first  example,  and  a 
type,  might  require  two  weeks,  although  the  others 
could  be  taught  in  much  less  time. 

In  order  to  realize  that  all  sections  of  our  coun- 
try must  be  firmly  united  under  one  central  govern- 
ment, very  many  data  are  necessary.  A  careful 
treatment  of  those  given  in  Chapter  II  could  easily 
occupy  two  months  in  the  sixth  grade. 

Require-  The  successful  treatment  of  these  concrete  data 

ma-kes  a  great  demand  upon  the  teacher.  In  order  to 
excite  deep  interest  among  her  children  in  her  subject- 
matter,  she  herself  must  be  deeply  interested  in  it. 
As  she  approaches  the  class  she  must  feel  that  she 


INDIVIDUAL   NOTIONS    PRESENTED  183 

has  something  valuable  to  give  them,  something  that 
they  will  value  highly  as  well  as  she.  How  little 
this  is  the  case  with  many  common  topics,  as  per- 
son, voice,  and  case  in  grammar;  the  location  of 
cities  in  geography;  the  teaching  of  the  several 
cases  in  percentage,  etc. !  The  first  demand  on  the 
teacher  is,  then,  that  she  know  her  subject  thor- 
oughly and  feel  its  richness.  But  far  beyond  that, 
she  must  have  prepared  each  lesson  with  much  care 
before  she  can  hope  to  provoke  free,  pointed  discus- 
sion, of  such  quality  that  good  summaries  will  be 
given  in  the  natural  language  of  the  child. 

This  is  the  ideal,  which  can  never  be  fully  at- 
tained. But  it  can  at  least  be  approached ;  and  there 
is  the  consolation,  too,  in  case  of  failures,  that  con- 
stant, earnest  practice  will  rapidly  render  a  near 
approach  to  it  more  and  more  easy. 

In  the  last  two  chapters  a  large  number  of  factors  Summary, 
have  been  considered  that  are  important  in  the 
preparation  for,  and  presentation  of,  individual  no- 
tions. The  first  great  question  was,  How  should 
individual  notions  be  approached  ?  The  answer, 
was  that  the  past  experiences,  related  closely  to  a 
given  topic,  should  be  called  to  mind  in  abundance ; 
the  method  of  doing  that  received  much  attention. 
The  second  great  question,  How  should  individual 
notions  be  presented  ?  has  now  been  discussed  at 
length.  This  completes  our  consideration  of  indi- 
vidual notions.  It  is  evident  that  there  are  two  steps 


184  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

in  their  mastery ;  first,  the  step  in  which  the  mind  is 
prepared  for  the  new  concrete  matter ;  and,  second, 
that  in  which  the  latter  is  presented.  These  will 
often  be  referred  to  in  the  future  as  the  first  and 
second  steps  of  instruction. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HOW  PROCEED  FROM  INDIVIDUAL  TO  GENERAL 
NOTIONS 

INSTRUCTION  often  ceases  at  this  point  as  though 
all  was  finished  when  individual  notions  have  been 
acquired.  This  is  the  case  in  much  of  history  and 
geography;  that  is,  in  these  subjects  there  is  often 
little  more  done  than  to  collect  a  mass  of  facts  about 
individual  men,  battles,  administrations,  cities,  moun- 
tains, rivers,  etc.  But  we  have  seen  that  percepts 
without  concepts  are  blind,  they  give  no  insight  into 

general  truths  and  laws.     Sense   impressions,   vivid  A  starting- 

point  tor 
concrete  pictures  or  percepts,  are  only  the  starting-  general 


point  in  instruction;  its  end  has  not  been  reached 
until  these  concrete  data  have  been  sifted  and  fully  material. 
interpreted.  We  have  thus  far,  as  it  were,  merely 
collected  the  material  out  of  which  to  build  some 
structure;  just  what  kind  it  shall  be  is  not  yet 
determined;  it  now  remains  to  look  over  the  many 
things  with  care,  to  see  what  can  best  be  made  out  of 
them.  Or  we  have  thus  far  only  gotten  together  in 
piles  the  books  which  are  to  constitute  our  library  ; 
the  usefulness  of  the  same  will  now  depend  upon  the 

'8* 


186 


METHOD   OF   RECITATION 


How  a  full 
view  of 
general 
notions  may 
be  secured. 


care  that  is  taken  in  sorting,  arranging,  and  indexing 
them.  Hence  there  is  much  work  still  to  be  done. 

It  might  happen  that  the  mere  sight  of  building 
materials  would  hint  at  the  best  use  to  which  they 
might  be  put.  So  in  instruction  it  can  happen  that 
the  concrete  data  immediately  suggest  the  large  truth 
that  they  are  intended  to  teach.  This  is  the  case  with 
the  Golden  Touch.  The  experiences  of  Midas,  his 
repentance,  etc.,  are  not  peculiar  to  the  king  alone. 
The  child  quickly  feels  that  Midas  is  typical  of  many 
people,  and  that,  if  their  selfish  wishes  were  granted 
they,  too,  like  him,  would  be  grievously  disappointed. 
Thus  a  glimpse  is  caught  of  the  general  truth,  the 
universal  application. 

But  is  it  not  important  to  catch  more  than  a  glimpse 
of  such  a  weighty  truth  ?  Should  not  ?ifull  view  of 
it  be  obtained  by  bringing  together  those  facts  within 
this  narrative  that  point  to  it,  and  also  by  calling  to 
mind  other  stories  and  any  actual  experiences  of  life 
that  teach  the  same  thought?  Baucis  and  Philemon 
had  their  wish ;  did  they  choose  more  or  less  wisely  than 
Midas?  Why?  In  what  respects  was  Salomon's  choice 
a  wise  one  ?  How  did  Midas  overestimate  the  value  of 
money  ?  What  use  did  Robinson  Crusoe  make  of  his 
bag  of  money  when  upon  the  island  ?  Why  ?  Such 
comparisons  and  questions  bring  the  chief  thought 
into  full  view  until  it  can  be  stated  in  words,  and  they 
do  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  establish  a  conviction. 

Any  student  of  United  States  history  necessarily 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL   TO   GENERAL  l8/ 

becomes  acquainted  with  some  of  the  sad  results  of 
our  want  of  unity  during  the  Revolutionary  War  and 
the  years  immediately  following  ;  but  because  the  in- 
struction is  not  planned  to  teach  convincingly  that  our 
states  must  be  united,  no  intelligent  conviction  in  regard 
to  that  matter  is  established ;  some  of  the  most  valuable 
data  are  omitted  entirely,  and  those  that  are  furnished 
by  the  book  and  teacher  are  not  so  massed  as  to  point 
inevitably  to  close  union  as  the  solution  of  the  many 
difficulties. 

Geography  contains  almost  an  overplus  of  concrete 
facts,  but  too  often  instruction  stops  with  them,  and 
the  result  is  that  only  a  vague  conception  is  given  of 
trade  centre,  manufacturing  country,  canal,  harbor, 
mountain,  beautiful  view,  etc.  Beyond  doubt  the  de- 
fect is  due  partly  to  the  fact  that  individual  trade  cen- 
tres, harbors,  mountains,  etc.,  are  not  studied  in  such 
detail  as  to  furnish  the  accurate  facts  necessary  for  a 
fairly  correct  concept.  Some  idea  of  the  number  of 
details  required  for  that  purpose  was  given  in  connec- 
tion with  Minneapolis.  But  the  defect  is  due  also  to 
the  fact  that  such  concrete  data  as  are  studied  are  not 
brought  together  and  compared.  Minneapolis  and 
the  other  cities  along  the  Mississippi  River  that  were 
mentioned  represent  only  one  kind  of  trade  centre. 
Minneapolis  is  an  excellent  type  of  our  large  Western 
cities  that  deal  largely  in  grain  and  lumber,  and  ship 
goods  in  and  out  by  rail.  But  all  centres  of  trade  do 
not  handle  mainly  these  goods,  nor  depend  so  fully 


1 88 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


How  a  single 
case  is  mis- 
leading. 


upon  railways.  Buffalo  adds  coal  and  live  stock  to  the 
articles  mentioned,  and  waterways  by  the  Great  Lakes 
and  Erie  Canal.  Pittsburg  deals  largely  in  iron 
products,  London  in  wines,  fruits,  iron  goods,  etc.  A 
glimpse  of  the  characteristics  necessary  to  a  trade 
centre  is  furnished  by  a  study  of  Minneapolis  alone. 
But  in  this  case,  as  in  that  of  Midas,  more  than  a 
glimpse  is  wanted ;  and  it  can  be  gotten  by  compar- 
ing facts  along  the  same  line  learned  from  other  sources. 
In  this  case  several  great  cities  should  be  carefully 
compared  in  order  to  reach  a  clear  conception  of 
trade  centre. 

One  can  get  only  a  faulty  conception  of  the 
general  notion  of  valley  by  observing  one  valley.  It 
is  customary  in  good  schools  to  examine  a  neigh- 
boring valley,  estimating  its  length,  breadth,  etc. 
But  it  is  usually  so  narrow  that  one  can  throw 
across,  or  at  least  see  across  it.  It  gives  scarcely  a 
suggestion  of  the  great  Mississippi  Valley.  Many 
a  child,  who  can  define  this  word  and  illustrate  what 
he  means,  is  mystified  by  being  assured  that  he 
himself  lives  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  for  he  has 
never  even  seen  that  river.  So  the  worded  defini- 
tion fails  of  interpretation  until  numerous  valleys 
of  various  sizes  and  characteristics  are  studied  and 
compared. 

Danger  of  These  instances  show  that  it  is  unsafe  to  stop 
shorTofgen-  snort  of  the  abstract  truths,  the  rules,  laws,  or  defi- 
erai  truths,  nitions.  When  one  has  presented  only  the  individual 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL    TO    GENERAL  189 

notions  he  has,  as  it  were,  what  he  knows  to  be  valu- 
able gold  ore  in  his  possession.  But  the  latter  must 
be  refined  before  it  can  be  brought  into  relation  to 
human  needs,  before  it  can  be  used ;  so  with  knowl- 
edge; the  non-essentials  that  are  mixed  with  the 
essentials  in  concrete  facts  must  be  separated  from 
these  before  the  latter  can  become  adapted  to  our 
use.  That  itself  is  a  very  important  part  of  instruc- 
tion. In  arithmetic  it  is  not  left  to  one  or  a  few 
examples  worked  to  suggest  of  themselves  the  arith- 
metical rule ;  that  would  involve  too  much  risk.  It 
is  a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  compare  the  steps 
taken  in  adding  different  groups  of  fractions  in  order 
to  discover  what  must  always  be  done,  i.e.  what  the 
rule  is.  This  is  the  case,  too,  in  all  study.  The 
first  and  second  great  steps  of  instruction  give  com- 
mand at  best  of  well-arranged  series  of  individual 
facts;  from  these  the  general  truths  are  still  to  be 
drawn;  and  unless  this  is  done  the  instruction  of 
the  teacher  is,  as  a  rule,  largely  in  vain.  So  far  as 
knowledge  is  concerned,  general  truths  are  the 
teacher's  harvest;  just  as  the  reaping  and  threshing 
of  wheat  are  essential  parts  of  wheat  raising  so  the 
careful  reaching  of  generalizations  is  an  essential 
part  of  good  instruction. 

While  the  acquisition  of  concrete  facts  may  be 
regarded  as  a  single  large  step,  it  was  found  to  con- 
sist of  two  minor  acts,  each  of  which  involved  a 
large  number  of  valuable  considerations.  So  the 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

progress  from  individual  to  general  notions  is  not 
simple;  enough  has  been  said  to  indicate  that  the 
individuals  must  be  compared  in  order  to  discover 
in  what  respects  they  are  alike  and  what  properties 
are  essential  to  all ;  then  must  follow  a  collection  of 
the  essential  characteristics  of  the  class  and  an 
expression  of  the  same  in  words  in  the  form  of  a 
definition,  maxim,  or  proverb,  etc.  Hence,  there 
TWO  steps  in  may  be  said  to  be  two  stages  in  proceeding  from 
tion?™  individual  to  general  notions :  one,  the  stage  of  com- 

parison and  abstraction,  the  other,  of  definition ;  the 
former  would  then  be  the  third,  the  latter  the  fourth 
step  in  the  mastery  of  general  notions,  since,  as 
shown  above,  two  are  necessary  in  acquiring  the 
concrete  data. 

Third  Step 

Comparison  presupposes  a  knowledge  of  things  to 
be  compared ;  one  cannot  well  hunt  out  resemblances 
and  differences  among  objects  before  these  them- 
selves have  been  separately  studied.  The  argument 
for  this  statement  is  well  worth  thinking  out,  it 
would  require  too  much  space  to  be  presented  here. 
The  opposite  practice  is  quite  common. 

The  extent  to  which  the  comparison  is  carried 
must  depend  upon  the  number  and  nature  of  the 
data  furnished  through  the  second  step,  or  through 
other  similar  experiences  acquired  either  in  or  out- 
side of  school.  Few  problems  involving  addition  of 
fractions  need  be  solved  before  their  comparison  can 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL   TO   GENERAL  IQI 

take  place  with  the  view  of  reaching  the  rule.  This  The  ease  or 
is  because  one  problem  is  quickly  recognizable  as  reaching  gen. 
typical  of  all  others.  Likewise  the  metamorphosis  eralizati°ns. 
of  one  insect  readily  represents  that  of  others  of 
the  same  class.  The  moral  of  a  story  may  easily 
be  reached  from  the  one  narrative  when  the  theme 
is  simple  and  when  it  recalls  numerous  past  experi- 
ences tending  in  the  same  direction.  This  is  the 
case  with  the  Golden  Touch.  Children  who  are 
quickly  susceptible  to  the  force  of  the  underlying 
truth  must  necessarily  have  been  led  already  to  re- 
flect on  the  occasional  uselessness  of  gold;  for 
instance,  they  have  found  Crusoe  rightly  preferring 
a  jack-knife  to  a  whole  bag-full  of  money.  And 
such  experiences,  coupled  with  the  narrative,  indeed 
compared  with  it  unconsciously,  cause  the  moral  to 
seem  easy  and  capable  of  being  reached  at  a  single 
bound.  However,  as  already  shown,  it  is  reached 
much  more  effectively  if  time  is  taken  to  recall  other 
related  experiences  and  compare  them  all. 

But  some  of  our  great  classics  furnish  remarkable 
examples  of  a  common  inability  to  "  read  between  the 
lines."  Pestalozzi's  "  Leonard  and  Gertrude  "  was  un- 
doubtedly regarded  only  as  an  interesting  story,  not 
as  a  work  on  education,  by  the  great  majority  of  its 
multitude  of  admirers  during  the  previous  century. 
Even  to-day  students  need  to  be  cautioned  that  it  is 
educational  in  its  aim  before  they  are  inclined  to  dis- 
cover in  it  educational  truths.  One  hundred  years 


IQ2  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

ago  people  wanted  many  of  the  experiences  that 
must  be  put  alongside  those  of  this  story  in  order  to 
bring  out  clearly  its  fundamental  thought.  Now 
they  have  plenty  of  them,  but  easily  fail  to  call  them 
to  mind  and  to  associate  them  with  the  contents  of 
the  book.  Hence  it  must  be  a  part  of  the  instructor's 
duty  to  call  up  such  experiences  and  suggest,  through 
them,  the  generalizations  intended. 

Pestalozzi's  book  furnishes  an  excellent  example  of 
a  properly  realized  second  step ;  i.e.  there  is  an  abun- 
dance of  incidents  or  particulars  so  presented  as  to  be 
very  clearly  seen  and  to  appear  interesting ;  but  while 
there  is  no  fault  to  find  with  it  in  that  respect,  the 
reader  must  extricate  himself  from  this  mass  of  details 
and  discover  the  great  truths  that  the  essential  parts 
of  the  story  indicate  before  he  has  really  read  the 
book  or  gotten  its  worth. 

In  general,  this  step  of  comparison  must  be  a  con- 
siderable abridgment  of  what  is  necessary  in  a  com- 
plete induction.  It  would  be  agreeable  if  a  great 
number  of  individual  valleys,  trade  centres,  and  stories 
teaching  the  same  underlying  thought  as  the  Golden 
Touch,  etc.,  could  be  studied  in  detail.  But  want  of 
time,  in  school  at  least,  forbids.  Only  a  few  well- 
chosen  types  can  there  receive  such  close  attention, 
and  they  must  represent  and  explain  in  a  rough  way 
the  entire  class  to  which  they  belong.  It  is  for  the 
home  and  later  life  to  supplement  this  work  of  the 
school. 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL   TO    GENERAL  193 

If  these  individuals  have  been  accurately  and  in-  The  various 
terestingly  taught,  the  comparison  that  follows  can  comparison? 
awaken  much  life.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  a 
cat  or  a  dog  runs  across  the  floor ;  but  it  is  more  in- 
teresting still  to  note  how  the  former  is  fitted  to  do 
it  so  much  more  quietly  than  the  latter.  We  enjoy 
observing  just  how  the  sheep,  the  cow,  or  the  horse 
clips  off  grass  from  the  meadow,  but  we  enjoy  still 
more  the  comparison  of  them  to  discover  why  one 
prefers  long  grass  and  another  grass  that  is  very 
short.  Tennyson's  poem  of  "The  Brook"  is  very 
attractive  in  itself,  but  after  seeing  what  message  a 
little  stream  carries  not  only  to  one  poet  but  to  two 
or  three,  it  is  especially  attractive  to  compare  these 
messages  and  their  various  styles  of  expression.  The 
old  Greek  heroes  were  wonderful  men ;  so  were  our 
own  pioneers.  A  class  that  has  formed  a  close 
acquaintance  with  both  sets  of  men  is  likely  to  be- 
come especially  stirred  in  determining  which  had  the 
greater  difficulties  to  meet  and  which  were  the  nobler. 

Such  comparisons  increase  not  only  the  interest  in 
knowledge,  but  its  accuracy  and  definiteness  as  well. 
One  serious  defect  in  most  instruction  is  that  the 
facts  taught  are  abandoned  too  soon  for  the  sake  of 
new  ones,  and  in  consequence  they  are  neither  thor- 
oughly comprehended  nor  even  retained  in  memory. 
But  the  moment  we  begin  to  compare  animals  or 
poems,  or  men,  etc.,  they  must  be  recalled  vividly  to 
mind ;  thus  a  careful  review  is  instituted.  But  more 


194  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

than  that :  this  knowledge  is  not  reproduced  in  just 
the  same  way  in  which  it  was  originally  acquired ;  it 
is  approached  from  some  new  point  of  view,  it  is  seen 
in  one  or  more  new  relations.  We  may  be  well 
acquainted  with  the  life  of  Washington  or  of  Lincoln ; 
but  if  asked  to  show  in  what  respects  they  were  alike, 
or  in  what  respects  one  was  superior  to  the  other,  we 
would  have  hard  thinking  before  us.  Each  life  would 
need  to  be  reviewed  from  a  new  position ;  points  that 
we  have  been  in  the  habit  of  emphasizing  might 
receive  little  attention,  while  others  that  have  been 
neglected  might  be  brought  into  prominence ;  the 
result  would  be  that  new  thoughts  and  perhaps  new 
convictions  would  be  reached.  So  a  comparison  of 
the  Rhine,  Hudson,  and  Mississippi  valleys  causes 
a  careful  review  of  each  and  adds  new  thoughts  or 
conclusions  to  our  stock.  Most  people  are  prone  to 
recall  facts,  for  instance,  the  causes  of  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  in  the  same  order  in  which  they  were  first 
learned,  if  they  recall  them  at  all;  in  consequence 
they  make  little  advance  in  their  knowledge,  it  does 
not  grow  more  thorough.  But  comparisons  tend  to 
remedy  the  defect  by  forcing  them  to  look  at  a  sub- 
ject from  one  side,  then  from  another  and  another, 
etc.,  the  result  is  that  their  knowledge  becomes  more 
thorough,  for  seeing  any  topic  from  many  sides  or  in 
many  relations  means  thoroughness.  Thus  compari- 
sons are  an  important  agent  in  securing  interesting 
reviews  and  wide  comprehension  of  a  subject. 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL   TO    GENERAL  19$ 

In  developing  the  idea  of  nouns  the  teacher  gives 
examples  of  nouns  such  as  horse,  mountain,  deer, 
tree,  boy,  apple,  barn,  etc.  By  examining  and  com- 
paring such  words  as  to  their  meaning,  children  will 
conclude  that  nouns  must  be  the  names  of  objects. 
But  if  the  teacher  suggests  that  there  are  other 
nouns  such  as  running,  playing,  talking,  eating,  etc., 
and  shows  that  these  too  can  be  used  in  the  same 
way  as  the  previous  list,  the  children,  by  comparison 
of  the  two  groups  of  ideas,  will  modify  their  state- 
ment and  conclude  that  nouns  are  the  names  of  both 
objects  and  actions. 

Let  the  teacher  now  call  to  mind  such  nouns  as 
courage,  honesty,  beauty,  kindness,  strength,  fear, 
etc.,  and  show  how  they  are  used  in  sentences. 
After  further  comparison  of  the  three  groups,  the 
children  may  include  names  of  qualities  in  their  defi- 
nition of  nouns.  The  teacher  may  go  farther  and 
show  that  any  word  like  under  or  quickly  can  be  used 
as  a  noun,  as  "  Under  is  a  word  of  two  syllables." 
By  still  further  comparisons  the  children  may  be  able 
to  see  that  a  noun  is  the  name  of  anything  used  as  an 
object  of  thought.  Without  such  a  series  of  compari- 
sons it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  notion  of  nouns  can 
be  clearly  formed  and  a  correct  definition  obtained. 

In  getting  a  clear  notion  of  vertebrate  animals, 
children  may  notice  the  backbone  first  in  quadrupeds, 
then  in  birds,  later  in  fishes,  frogs,  serpents,  etc. 
Only  by  successive  comparisons  do  they  arrive  at  a 


196  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

comprehensive  view  of  the  groups  of  animals  included 
under  the  term  vertebrates.  By  a  similar  process  of 
comparisons  does  a  child  get  the  wider  significance 
of  boat,  road,  fruit,  government,  church,  states- 
man, etc. 

HOW  com-          The  third  step  was  spoken  of  not  only  as  a  step  of 
*     comparison  but  also  of  abstraction.     How  the  latter 


tions.  takes  place   may  be  seen  from  examples.      In  the 

study  of  trade  centres  the  individual  characteristics  of 
each  were  considered  in  detail.  Without  any  further 
study  of  them  we  have  a  partially  correct  conception 
of  the  idea  trade  centre.  But  if  we  wish  to  make 
it  at  all  accurate,  we  must  first  compare  these  several 
great  cities:  one,  Minneapolis,  is  the  centre  for  flour 
and  lumber,  another  for  coal,  another  for  iron,  fruits, 
grain,  etc.  Some  depend  mainly  upon  water  for 
transportation,  others  upon  railways,  others  upon 
both  to  a  marked  degree.  Hence  in  order  to  be 
styled  a  trade  centre  it  is  unnecessary  that  a  certain 
city  deal  largely  in  flour  ;  neither  must  it  be  iron,  nor 
coal;  in  fact,  it  makes  no  difference  just  what  the 
articles  be,  so  we  leave  that  matter  out  of  considera- 
tion. What  do  we  hold  in  mind  then  ?  Those  char- 
acteristics simply  that  are  really  essential  and  hence 
common  to  all  trade  centres.  In  order  to  be  properly 
called  a  trade  centre  there  must  be  a  large  quantity 
of  goods  shipped  to  and  from  a  certain  city;  also 
there  must  be  conveniences  for  transportation,  i.e. 
plenty  of  railroads  or  waterways  or  other  means  for 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL   TO    GENERAL  1 97 

carrying.  The  attention  is  drawn  away  (abstracted) 
from  all  minor  and  non-essential  matters  and  centred 
finally  upon  those  that  are  necessary  for  conceiving 
trade  centre  properly.  In  reaching  a  correct  defini- 
tion of  valley,  one  goes  through  exactly  this  same 
process  of  comparison  and  abstraction.  It  is  practi- 
cally the  same  in  reaching  the  generalization  in  his- 
tory in  regard  to  unity.  In  that  case  while  many 
details  were  studied  showing  the  troubles  that  fol- 
lowed the  Revolutionary  War,  only  the  more  signifi- 
cant of  these  are  now  considered.  They  are  brought 
together  and  compared  —  perhaps  ten  or  twelve  im- 
portant facts ;  most  of  these  are  found  to  be  alike 
in  pointing  toward  unity  as  their  remedy ;  if  some  of 
them,  though  important,  do  not  hint  strongly  at  unity, 
the  attention  is  withdrawn  (abstracted)  from  them 
and  centred  on  those  that  do.  These  latter  being 
weighty  matters,  and  pointing  all  to  the  same  con- 
clusion, are  recognized  as  sufficient  data  on  which  to 
found  the  conviction  that  our  states  should  be  united. 
People  are  continually  reaching  conclusions  in 
this  way,  i.e.  through  comparison  and  abstraction 
—  so  it  is  nothing  strange.  But  the  difficulty  is  that 
they  do  it  very  carelessly  and  hence  make  mistakes. 
They  are  prone  to  the  same  errors  in  this  case  as  in 
the  observation  of  the  common  objects  about  them, 
i.e.  the  results  reached  are  hazy  and  inaccurate 
unless  they  expend  conscious  effort  or  do  some  real 
studying.  It  is  the  duty  of  teachers  to  give  children 


198 


METHOD   OF   RECITATION 


Why  clear 
statement  of 
general 
truths  is 
difficult. 


training  in  this  work  and  to  lead  them  to  reach  im- 
portant generalizations  correctly  in  all  school  studies. 

Fourth  Step 

After  separating  essentials  from  non-essentials, 
it  remains  to  collect  the  former  and  to  word  clearly 
and  accurately  the  result  reached ;  for  example,  the 
necessary  characteristics  of  a  trade  centre,  the  rule 
for  addition  of  fractions,  the  law  for  the  metamor- 
phosis of  insects,  the  underlying  thought  in  the 
Golden  Touch,  or  the  generalization  regarding  unity, 
should  receive  definite  statement.  This  is  not  an 
easy  matter ;  the  world  is  full  of  people  who  "  know 
ft  but  can't  tell  it."  Some  of  the  most  common  ideas 
are  defined  in  words  with  the  greatest  difficulty. 
For  instance,  teachers  quite  frequently  speak  of 
good  character  as  the  purpose  of  education,  yet  they 
seldom  dare  attempt  to  state  what  the  chief  ele- 
ments in  such  character  are ;  all  people  are  ac- 
quainted with  Christ's  parables  of  the  sower,  and  of 
the  wheat  and  the  tares;' yet  it  costs  a  struggle  to 
word  properly  the  thought  in  either  of  them.  Every 
one,  no  doubt,  has  often  been  surprised  at  his  ina- 
bility to  express  himself  on  a  topic  with  which  he 
had  supposed  himself  to  be  familiar.  What  is  the 
cause  of  the  difficulty?  Beyond  question  in  most 
cases  it  is  not  first  of  all  a  lack  of  words,  but  of 
clearness  of  ideas ;  when  one  knows  exactly  what  his 
thought  is,  he  can  usually  give  expression  to  it ;  hesi- 


FROM  INDIVIDUAL   TO   GENERAL  1 99 

tation  is  due  to  vagueness.  It  means  a  decided  ad- 
vance in  thinking  to  state  a  conclusion  tersely  in 
words ;  it  is  an  advance,  too,  that  should  be  regu- 
larly required  from  all  learners,  for  the  final  utility 
of  the  three  preceding  steps  in  instruction  is  directly 
dependent  on  the  clearness  and  accuracy  with  which 
generalizations  are  reached ;  their  purpose  is  to  lead 
to  generals,  and  nothing  is  clinched  until  these  latter 
are  fully  expressed. 

In  whose  words  should  the  abstraction  be  stated,  who  shall 
in  those  of  the  child  or  student,  on  the  one  hand,  statement. 
or  in  those  of  the  book  or  teacher  ?  Much  is  involved 
in  the  question.  As  a  rule,  the  mistake  is  made  of 
hastening  altogether  too  rapidly  to  reach  the  exact 
wording  that  the  book  or  teacher  prefers ;  as  though 
an  exact  wording  given  to  the  child  would  neces- 
sarily produce  an  exact  thought  in  his  mind.  The 
truth  is  that  unless  the  exact  notion  has  been  ap- 
proached very  nearly  by  one's  own  power  to  think 
and  use  words,  the  definition  carefully  worded  for 
him  by  another  accomplishes  little  or  nothing ;  it  does 
not  meet  a  feeling  of  need,  and  fails  to  be  apper- 
ceived  or  appreciated.  Any  statement  of  a  defini- 
tion, law,  or  rule  should  be  the  immediate  outcome  of 
the  thinking  that  has  gone  before,  otherwise  it  is  an 
imposition  upon  the  child.  To  be  sure,  children  can 
often  reproduce  the  book's  statement  and  talk  about 
it  with  glibness,  but  that  proves  only  their  ability 
to  handle  words ;  they  are  often  conscious  that  they 


2OO  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

are  only  playing  with  phrases  and  wondering  if  the 
teacher  will  find  them  out ;  this  thing  is  happening 
every  day  in  our  schools,  and  as  a  rule  the  attempt 
to  hide  behind  words  is  successful.  It  is  a  game  of 
hide-and-seek  between  teacher  and  pupil  —  a  mas- 
querading with  words. 

If  it  is  true  that  accurately  worded  statements 
from  the  book  or  instructor  do  not  necessarily  elicit 
accurate  thinking  from  the  pupil,  less  faith  should 
be  placed  in  mere  verbal  accuracy,  and  the  somewhat 
cruder  statement  from  the  child  should  be  more 
willingly  accepted.  The  latter  is  his  own  and  is 
genuine.  The  exact  definition  very  often  does  not 
appeal  to  him,  and,  in  that  case,  instead  of  being 
forced  to  learn  it,  he  should  be  scolded  if  he  allows 
himself,  parrot-like,  to  repeat  it.  The  boy  who  said 
that  "number  tells  about  the  how-muchness  of 
things,"  had  the  essence  of  the  definition ;  why  not 
judge  him  by  that  and  preserve  his  individuality? 
It  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  things  in  the  world  for 
one  to  be  himself  in  the  true  sense,  and  school  in- 
struction, instead  of  discouraging  the  real  expres- 
sion of  self  in  the  use  of  words,  should  count  that 
one  of  its  high  functions.  Did  not  the  boy  have 
an  accurate  idea  of  a  bat,  who  defined  it  thus  :  "  He's 
a  nasty  little  mouse  with  injy-rubber  wings  and  shoe- 
string tail,  and  bites  like  the  devil  "  ?  Does  the  text- 
book come  closer  to  the  child's  thought  by  describing 
it  as  a  "  Mammal  with  a  wing  membrane  extending 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL    TO    GENERAL  2OI 

from  the  enormously  elongated  bones  and  fingers  of 
the  fore  limb  to  the  comparatively  short  hind  limbs"? 
The  adult's  love  of  accuracy  and  graceful  form  of  ex- 
pression too  often  misleads  him  in  these  matters. 

The  uselessness  of  such  a  memorized  definition  is  Howrepro- 
seen  from  the  fact  that,  when  once  forgotten,  there  gotten0' 
is  no  way  of  reproducing  it  except  by  turning  to  the  statements, 
book.  Now  the  fact  is  that  any  rule  or  general 
truth  directly  taught  to  a  child  will  probably  be  for- 
gotten —  a  discouraging  fact,  but  certainly  true ; 
and  as  text-books  are  not  to  be  kept  at  hand 
throughout  life,  how  is  the  definition  to  be  made 
available  ?  The  really  useful  generalization,  the  one 
that  brings  with  it  a  feeling  of  strength,  is  the  one 
that  can  be  reproduced,  after  having  been  forgotten, 
through  the  data  out  of  which  it  arose ;  it  should  be 
so  closely  associated  with  these  and  so  directly  an 
outgrowth  from  them  that  they  can  replace  it  when 
lost;  the  child  himself  should  draw  the  generaliza- 
tion from  the  data  in  the  first  place,  then  when  it  is 
forgotten  it  should  be  reproduced  by  his  own  un- 
aided effort:.  The  first  thing,  then,  in  regard  to  the 
acquisition  of  definitions,  principles,  etc.,  is  that  the 
child  reach  them  by  his  own  thinking  and  state  them 
as  well  as  possible  in  his  own  words. 

The  ability  to  do  this  depends  greatly,  of  course, 
upon  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  data  them- 
selves ;  the  individual  notions  and  their  points  of 
similarity  must  be  well  known  to  him  ;  in  other  words, 


2O2  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

the  first,  second,  and   third   steps  must  have  been 
properly  covered. 

When  to  use        But  should  he  never  accept  the  words  of  another? 

statement.  He  may,  and  undoubtedly  should,  at  times,  but  not 
until  he  has  done  his  own  thinking  on  the  matter 
and  feels  the  crudeness  of  his  own  wording.  The 
mistake  consists  in  offering  the  book's  statement 
prematurely,  before  the  need  of  it  is  felt.  If  the 
definition  for  case  in  grammar,  or  the  rule  for  the 
division  of  fractions,  is  taught  before  the  meaning 
itself  stands  out  clearly  in  the  mind,  there  is  serious 
danger  lest  it  may  never  be  rightly  comprehended; 
the  reason  is  that  the  child,  having  once  memorized 
the  definition  or  rule,  refers  to  it  for  guidance  and  is 
unwilling  to  turn  back  to  speculate  about  its  origin. 
It  is  very  difficult,  after  having  gotten  the  words  for 
an  abstract  thought,  to  go  back  and  get  the  thought 
itself,  for  the  mind  is  not  then  in  a  learning  attitude ; 
having  secured  the  semblance  of  knowledge,  it  is 
deceived  into  thinking  that  it  has  the  whole  thing 
and  is  impatient  of  delay.  The  only  safe  method, 
then,  is  to  move  slowly  toward  any  definition,  taxing 
in  full  the  learner's  ability  to  think  and  express  him- 
self, until  the  correct  conception  is  reached.  After 
that,  if  there  is  difficulty  merely  about  a  brief  and 
accurate  wording,  the  form  of  statement  given  by 
the  book  or  teacher  is  entirely  in  place  and  may  be 
learned  by  heart. 

Occasionally  at  the  end  of  the  discussion  it  is  pos- 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL    TO    GENERAL  2O3 

sible  to  clothe  the  principle  in  a  classical  garb ;  for  Value  of 

/    T  T  proverbs  and 

example,  the  proverb,  "  How  much  better  is  it  to  get  poetic  form, 
wisdom  than  gold  !  "  expresses  the  ruling  idea  in  the 
Golden  Touch ;  "  In  unity  is  strength,"  the  one 
suggested  by  the  historical  facts  presented  in  Chapter 
II.  The  Germans  are  far  more  accustomed  to 
summing  up  their  conclusions  in  this  form  than  we, 
and  the  practice  certainly  adds  grace  and  force  to 
their  speech.  The  reason  for  preferring  a  classical 
form  of  expression  for  a  weighty  thought  over  an 
ordinary  form,  is  much  the  same  as  that  for  prefer- 
ring a  classical  poem  to  a  poor  one.  Hence  school 
instruction  should  encourage  familiarity  with  such 
proverbs  or  maxims  as  are  found  in  Poor  Richard's 
Almanac,  the  Bible,  and  ^Esop's  Fables,  in  poetry, 
etc.,  and  should  do  so  by  selecting  them  to  express 
valuable  sentiments  that  have  been  taught. 

Text-books  are  often  in  place  in  the  fourth  step.  Text-books 
Many  of  them,  as  the  ordinary  small  geography  for  summaries. 
beginners,  brief  outlines  of  United  States  history, 
grammars,  etc.,  are  little  more  than  brief  summaries 
of  the  main  facts  belonging  to  the  studies  that  they 
represent.  If  these  facts  have  been  slowly  reached, 
i.e.  to  a  fair  degree  inductively,  they  should  be  finally 
reviewed  and  accurately  summarized.  Such  text-books 
accomplish  this  in  an  excellent  manner.  Among 
some  teachers  it  is  the  custom  to  require  pupils  to 
enter  their  generalizations  or  main  outlines  of  facts  in 
small  blank  books,  with  proper  headings ;  one  book 


2O4  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

is  kept  for  each  study  and,  as  soon  as  an  important 
topic  has  been  finished,  it  is  written  in  its  proper 
place.  Thus  the  children  practically  make  their  own 
books. 

when  gener-  Sometimes,  especially  with  young  children,  it  seems 
advisable  not  to  teach  the  rule  at  all,  relying  upon 
the  concrete  facts  —  whatever  their  nature  —  to  sug- 
gest it  of  themselves.  This  applies  to  arithmetic  and 
to  literature,  as  well  as  to  other  studies.  Froebel 
emphasizes  it  strongly  in  the  kindergarten.  Little 
people  who  cannot  appreciate  the  statement  of  an 
abstract  rule  may  remember  how  a  typical  example 
was  worked  and  solve  another  in  the  same  way ;  or 
in  literature  they  may  recall  a  story  together  with  the 
feeling  it  produced,  thus  receiving  some  benefit  from 
it,  while  a  full  statement  of  the  moral  might  prove 
too  abstract,  or,  on  other  accounts,  unwholesome.  It 
requires  much  delicacy  on  the  part  of  the  teacher, 
especially  when  teaching  morals,  to  distinguish  what 
is  best  to  be  done  in  this  regard. 

In  teaching  the  rules  and  analyses  of  arithmetic 
teachers  sometimes  demand  from  children  a  prema- 
ture exactness  and  fulness  of  language.  It  is  obvious 
that  exact  verbal  statements  in  description  of  con- 
crete objects  are  difficult,  still  more  so  are  rules  and 
abstractions  which  are  much  more  difficult  to  under- 
stand and  formulate.  Children  in  the  fourth  or  fifth 
school-year  are  often  teased  and  worried  over  a  long, 
exact,  and  tedious  analysis  of  a  problem  in  denomi- 


FROM    INDIVIDUAL   TO    GENERAL  20$ 

nate  numbers  or  fractions,  or  in  the  exact  statement 
of  a  rule  not  yet  sufficiently  illuminated  by  examples. 
Generally  such  careful,  exhaustive  analyses  are  suited 
only  to  advanced  pupils  who  have  already  acquired  a 
clear  knowledge  of  their  subjects.  In  beginning  any 
important  topic  in  arithmetic,  children  should  first 
become  familiar  with  a  process  by  repeated  oral  and 
written  problems.  If  they  can  work  these  prob- 
lems and  give  short,  intelligent  answers  as  to 
the  reasons,  it  is  enough.  By  such  simple  ques- 
tions and  answers,  the  teacher  can  tell  if  a  child 
understands  a  problem,  and  more  than  this  is  often 
mere  vexation  of  spirit.  The  recitation  period  is 
often  wasted  and  the  children  vexed  and  confused  by 
such  long-winded  analyses  and  statement  of  rules. 

Over-exactness  in  defining  the  meaning  of  words  in 
the  reading  lesson  leads  also  to  a  waste  of  time  and  a 
wearisome  routine.  Such  excess  of  verbal  precision 
may  give  a  little  clearer  insight,  but  it  is  often  gained 
at  the  expense  of  interest  and  enthusiasm  for  the 
subject.  It  is  very  depressing. 

Summing  up :  inability  to  state  the  generalization 
reached  is  due  primarily  to  vagueness  of  thought; 
such  a  statement,  then,  is  an  essential  part  of  instruc- 
tion. The  wording  for  the  same  should  come  from 
the  child  himself,  being  an  immediate  outgrowth  from 
the  data  that  he  has  at  hand ;  this  is  especially  impor- 
tant, since  any  rule  is  likely  to  be  forgotten,  and  unless 
it  can  be  recalled  without  help,  the  utility  of  the 


2O6  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

knowledge  is  greatly  diminished.  The  book's  state- 
ment may  be  memorized,  but  not  unless  it  seems  to 
voice  the  child's  own  feeling.  If  possible,  a  classical 
form  of  expression  should  be  found  for  the  generali- 
zation. If  the  precaution  here  advised  in  approach- 
ing the  generalization  is  in  place,  it  is  apparent  how 
ridiculous  it  is  to  place  the  general  before  chil- 
dren, even  before  the  individual  facts  have  been  pre- 
sented, as  is  often  done. 


CHAPTER  IX 

HOW  SHOULD  GENERAL  NOTIONS  BE  APPLIED  ? 

WHAT  worth  have  these  general  truths  which  have  When  shall 
been  gained  at  such  expense  of  labor  on  the  part  of  tioVatprin- 
both  teachers  and  pupils  ?  We  may  stop  a  moment  ciPles  be 

acquired? 

to  take  account  of  our  work  done,  and  of  the  task 
that  still  lies  before  us.  In  the  previous  chapters  we 
have  dealt  somewhat  in  detail  with  the  series  of  steps 
necessary  to  the  construction  of  those  general  notions 
which,  properly  fitted  together,  constitute  the  chief 
framework  of  a  study.  When  the  children  have 
worked  their  way  to  a  clear  grasp  of  these  general 
notions,  by  a  self-active,  inductive  process  of  thinking, 
have  they  not  reached  the  end  sought  by  instruction  ? 
If  so,  the  goal  set  up  is  a  clear  view  of  important 
principles.  To  those  who  look  upon  the  school  as  a 
place  of  preparation  in  contrast  with  later  life  as  a 
field  of  application,  this  is  the  goal  of  school  studies. 
But  this  leaves  unsolved  the  child's  most  difficult 
problem ;  namely,  the  acquisition  of  skill  in  the  ready 
use  of  principles.  It  has  been  said  over  and  over 
again  by  the  best  teachers  and  writers  on  education 
that  principles  and  rules  are  never  safely  mastered 

207 


2O8  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

till  they  have  settled  into  the  usual  practice  and  con- 
duct  of  a  child.  "  For  from  repeated  cautions  and 
rules,  never  so  often  inculcated,  you  are  not  to 
expect  anything  either  in  this  or  any  other  case  fur- 
ther than  practice  has  established  them  into  habits." 
(Locke,  par.  10,"  Thoughts  on  Education.")  If  children 
are  to  know  how  to  apply  important  principles  in  later 
life,  when  shall  they  acquire  the  extremely  difficult  art 
of  application  ?  There  may  be  a  whole  series  of  abor- 
tive efforts  in  education  due  to  this  disposition  to  call 
a  halt  in  the  mental  movement  before  the  final  result 
in  the  form  of  useful  application  is  reached. 
Errors  on  the  The  first  of  these  errors  was  seen  above  in  the 
cation? aPP  J"  verbal  mastery  of  rules  and  principles  without  clear 
insight.  No  matter  how  fluently  and  trippingly  a 
child  in  the  schoolroom  may  run  off  such  formula;, 
the  whole  process  of  learning  may  be  empty  and 
farcical.  At  the  other  extreme,  the  most  complete 
theoretical  mastery  of  principles  will  not  give  profi- 
ciency in  their  practical  use.  One  may  master  the 
grammar  of  the  German  language  and  still  cut  a  most 
blundering  figure  in  German  conversation.  Between 
the  extremes  of  rote-learning  and  of  clear  insight  into 
principles  there  may  be  an  entire  series  of  miscar- 
riages. But  even  beyond  the  step  of  clear  insight 
there  may  be  the  greatest  miscarriage  of  all  in  the 
failure  to  turn  clearly  recognized  rules  into  use. 
The  end  of  instruction  has  not  been  reached  until 
skill  in  the  actual  application  has  been  developed. 


GENERAL  NOTIONS  APPLIED         2OQ 

We  deceive  ourselves  again  and  again  by  stopping  at 
halfway  stations  on  the  highway  of  learning.  We 
are  not  simply  sight-seers,  to  be  satisfied  with  fine 
views,  not  caring  to  reach  any  destined  point. 

One  who  has  worked  his  way  up  to  the  clear  grasp  The  breadth 
of  some  important  principle  stands  at  a  high  point 
and  gets  a  broad  survey.  A  survey  of  what  ?  Of  the  tions- 
road  he  has  already  travelled,  and  in  part  also  of  that 
which  he  is  still  to  traverse.  That  is,  he  has  a  double 
task  to  perform :  first,  to  look  backward  and  see  the 
extent  to  which  the  principle  operates  in  what  he 
already  knows ;  and,  second,  to  look  forward  and  apply 
it  to  the  new  problems  which  he  is  about  to  meet. 
Both  these  things  are  difficult.  But  they  are  difficul- 
ties which  lie  of  necessity  in  the  path  of  knowledge. 
As  when  travellers  ascend  some  broad  mountain 
range,  till  they  reach  at  last  the  summit  of  the  high- 
est ridge,  from  which  they  look  back  over  the  slopes 
behind  and  forward  on  their  journey  through  moun- 
tains and  plains,  so  the  student,  as  he  rises  to  the 
grasp  of  some  large  principle,  looks  back  over  the 
steps  already  traversed  and  forward  to  those  which 
follow.  The  discovery  of  a  great  principle  is  no 
doubt  a  long  forward  step,  but  it  may  take  all  the 
rest  of  one's  life  to  find  out  the  breadth  and  variety 
of  its  applications.  The  first  grasp  of  such  a  princi- 
ple, be  it  never  so  clear,  is  only  a  foretaste  of  the 
richer  fruitage  it  will  still  bear.  When  Columbus 
first  landed  on  the  shores  of  the  Bahamas,  he  had 
t 


2IO  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

indeed  solved  a  great  problem,  and  had  gone  far 
toward  establishing  his  general  theory;  but  there 
was  a  bigger  problem  to  be  solved,  both  as  to  the 
continents  of  America  and  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
world  whole.  Since  Darwin  first  expounded  the  law 
of  evolution,  it  has  been  applied  by  scientists  in 
scores  of  directions  only  vaguely  contemplated  by 
Darwin  himself.  Macaulay,  on  the  basis  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  common  law  in  England,  worked  out  a  ser- 
viceable plan  for  the  administration  of  justice  in  the 
courts  of  India.  How  'the  world  is  astonished  from 
time  to  time  by  new  applications  of  the  power  of 
electricity  which  operates  under  certain  laws !  Every 
new  principle  discovered  becomes  an  instrument  of 
investigation,  a  lever  for  prying  open  new  secrets. 
General  notions,  the  more  we  grow  up  to  them,  be- 
come more  and  more  the  interpreters  of  our  prob- 
lems, the  keys  which,  like  the  open  sesame,  unlock 
and  swing  open  many  long-closed  doors.  Nature 
everywhere  locks  the  door  and  bars  out  the  in- 
truder. But  whoever  carries  a  bundle  of  bright  keys 
in  the  form  of  principles  and  laws,  and  is  constantly 
turning  and  testing  them  in  use,  will  rapidly  gain 
the  freedom  of  the  realm.  This  is,  indeed,  the  goal 
toward  which  instruction  should  move,  and  never 
lag  till  the  end  is  reached ;  namely,  such  a  working 
mastery  of  general  truths  as  shows  itself  in  ready 
instinctive  tact  in  common  use.  The  great  fact  here 
to  be  kept  in  mind  is,  then,  that  the  value  of  general 


GENERAL   NOTIONS    APPLIED  211 

truths  lies  in  the  freedom  and  versatility  with  which 
we  can  turn  them  into  use. 

We  see  now  a  great  defect  in  much  of  our  knowl-  The  difficulty 
edge,  and  why  it  is  so  halting  and  unserviceable  when  °heory  to& 
called   into   sudden    action    under   the    emergencies  Practice- 
of   life.     The  old  adage  teaches  that   knowledge  is 
power. 

But  the  power  of  the  school-trained  man  so  often 
suffers  a  partial  or  complete  paralysis  in  times  of 
need  that  this  old  proverb  seems  only  half  true,  or 
in  cases  not  true  at  all.  Its  truth  depends  upon  the 
meaning  which  is  read  into  the  word  knowledge. 
Undigested,  unorganized  knowledge  is  not  power. 
Knowledge  which  has  never  been  tested  in  use, 
never  worked  over  into  habit,  is  not  power.  Knowl- 
edge, stored  away  in  the  half-forgotten  recesses  of 
the  mind  and  even  in  the  time  of  learning  not  clearly 
understood,  is  not  power. 

The  old  question  of  the  relation  between  theory 
and  practice  is  here  at  issue.  The  prevailing  ques- 
tion in  school  is,  What  do  you  know?  But  life 
insistently  demands,  What  can  you  do  ?  and  since 
school  prepares  for  life  it  should  meet  this  demand. 
In  the  case  of  many  reputedly  well-educated  people, 
there  is  a  wide  breach  between  their  knowledge  and 
their  power  to  do.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  school  to 
make  the  ability  to  do  a  part  of  the  knowing. 

The  boy  who  wishes  to  be  a  sailor  has  acquired 
some  knowledge  of  ships  and  of  seafaring  life.  He 


212  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

has  heard  stories  and  read  books  of  travel  and 
adventure  in  foreign  lands.  In  fancy  he  dreams  of 
delightful  voyages,  and  is  only  disenchanted  by  the 
rough  usage  of  real  sailor  life.  But  this  inuring  to 
hardship  and  rough  usage  is  a  necessary  preparation 
for  good  seamanship. 

The  errand  boy  in  the  bank  office  forecasts  his 
easy  success  as  a  great  banker,  but  tires  under  the 
long  routine  and  industry  of  working,  his  way  to  a 
complete  knowledge  of  the  business.  The  young 
student  of  agriculture  has  vivid  theories  of  the  revo- 
lution needed  in  farming ;  but  the  careful  and  con- 
stant labor  required  for  keeping  down  expenses  and 
losses,  while  securing  profits,  leads  to  wisdom  and 
thrift. 

But  failure  and  miscarriages  are  not  confined  to 
young  people.  Older  persons  constantly  blunder  in 
measuring  the  distance  and  difficulty  between  an 
idea  and  its  realization.  In  consequence  life  is 
strewn  with  wrecks.  The  unrealized  schemes  and 
half-executed  projects  of  business  men  everywhere, 
cumber  the  ground.  If  the  schools,  therefore,  can 
induce  any  habits  which  bring  thought  and  action, 
knowing  and  doing,  into  vital  union,  they  will  per- 
form a  great  service  to  society. 

There  are  certain  situations  in  life  where  such  a 
close  relation  between  theory  and  practice  can  be 
witnessed.  The  boy  brought  up  by  a  prudent  father 
to  the  hard  and  varied  work  of  the  farm,  daily  welds 


GENERAL    NOTIONS    APPLIED 

his  thought  and  experience  into  union.  His  prac- 
tice keeps  pace  with  his  knowledge.  The  young 
recruits  of  Prussia  are  inured,  even  in  time  of  peace, 
to  the  hardships  of  war.  The  best  preparation  of  a 
soldier  is  to  experience  the  drills,  marches,  hard- 
ships, and  manoeuvres  of  army  life.  This  kind  of 
training  makes  the  soldier  a  veteran  before  he  has 
seen  a  battle.  Our  medical  schools,  by  means  of 
laboratories,  dissections,  and  clinical  operations,  come 
as  near  as  possible  to  making  expert  physicians  of 
their  students  before  allowing  them  to  practice.  In 
trade  and  polytechnic  schools,  students  are  brought, 
by  dealing  with  the  actual  materials  and  processes 
of  their  work,  to  skill  and  mastery  of  the  mechanic 
arts.  In  all  these  cases  the  school  is  formed  into 
the  closest  possible  resemblance  to  life.  In  law 
schools,  by  moot  courts  ;  in  theological  schools,  by 
drill  in  preaching  ;  in  normal  schools,  by  practice 
departments,  there  is  a  close  approximation  to  the 
actual  difficulties  of  later  professional  work. 

But  does  this  law  of  close  and   inseparable  com-  Should  the 
panionship   between  knowledge   and  its  use  prevail 


also  in  common  school  studies  ?     It  is  easy  to  see  that  knowledge  to 

practice. 

professional  schools  of  all  sorts  must  lay  great 
stress  upon  the  use  of  knowledge,  because  each  of 
them  aims  directly  at  practical  efficiency  in  a  single 
calling.  But  the  common  schools  are  not  designed 
to  fit  children  directly  for  particular  callings.  The 
knowledge  they  give  fits  equally  for  all  callings. 


214  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

Now  it  will  be  acknowledged  that  the  general  culture 
acquired  in  the  common  schools  is  just  as  essential  to 
complete  living  as  is  the  particular  knowledge  gained 
in  law,  or  dentistry,  or  engineering.  But  has  it  the 
same  close  relationship  to  practice  ?  Why  not  ? 
Mere  knowledge  is  not  what  we  are  after  in  common 
schools  any  more  than  in  a  chemical  laboratory,  but 
rather  character  as  expressed  in  conduct.  Character 
is  the  union  of  theory  with  practice ;  it  is  the  incor- 
poration of  knowledge  into  habit.  If  character  is 
being  formed  in  school  years,  just  to  that  extent 
knowledge  of  some  sort  is  being  converted  into  use, 
changed  into  habit. 

But  the  school  is  inclined  to  lose  sight  of  this 
measure  of  its  efficiency,  to  shift  the  responsibility  for 
character,  and  to  set  up  an  artificial  standard  of 
excellence.  The  present  prevailing  school  standard 
is  an  intellectual  grasp  of  knowledge,  tested  by  ex- 
aminations ;  unfortunately  this  test  does  not  reach 
far  enough.  Oftentimes  it  falls  far  short  of  the  final 
test  of  power  to  use.  When  a  child  in  a  history  or 
reading  lesson  appreciates  an  example  showing  the 
bad  effects  of  sudden  and  uncontrolled  anger,  he  has 
caught  a  clear  view  of  an  important  truth  in  life ;  but 
no  one  will  claim  that  the  lesson  is  really  learned  till 
he  is  prepared  to  curb  his  own  anger  under  provok- 
ing circumstances.  During  the  recitation,  at  recess, 
and  upon  the  playground  the  teacher  has  better  and 
more  important  opportunities  for  testing  the  best 


GENERAL  NOTIONS  APPLIED 

ideas  in  conduct  than  the  written  examination  can 
furnish. 

We  all  admit  that  the  application  of  truth  must 
come  sooner  or  later,  but  when  shall  this  be  ?  Is  it 
safe  to  postpone  the  use  of  knowledge  to  later  years  ? 
Doubtless  we  shall  have  much  need  for  it  later  on. 
But  shall  we  be  able  to  bring  it  into  use  in  future 
years  unless  we  habituate  ourselves  to  its  use  dur- 
ing the  period  of  acquisition?  Children  are  in  the 
full  tide  of  life.  They  show  many-sided  activity. 
Conduct  is  not  a  future  contingency,  but  a  present 
fact.  They  have  all  sorts  of  duties  and  responsibil- 
ities. There  will  never  be  a  time  when  the  child  will 
have  more  varied  uses  for  his  knowledge  than  now. 
But  the  habit  of  separating  knowledge  from  use  is  in 
itself  pernicious,  and  when  formed  in  youth  is  a  pos- 
itive obstruction  to  success  in  mature  life.  Is  it  any 
less  important  that  a  child  should  put  in  practice  day 
by  day  the  merits  and  virtues  of  his  early  training 
than  that  a  plumber,  during  his  apprenticeship,  should 
learn  the  technique  of  his  work  in  iron.  Is  it  any 
more  necessary  that  a  theological  student  should 
learn  to  make  and  deliver  sermons  at  the  seminary 
than  that  a  boy  in  school  should  learn  to  be  self- 
reliant  and  honest  in  board  work  ? 

Many  of  the  most  important  lessons  of  life  must 
be  learned  and  converted  into  habit  long  before  pro- 
fessional studies  are  begun.  Before  the  boy  decides 
to  be  a  merchant  or  a  dentist,  he  must  decide  whether 


2l6  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

he  will  be  an  honest  man  or  a  rogue,  a  law-abiding 
citizen  or  a  disturber,  narrow  and  bigoted,  or  charitable 
and  liberal.  Until  these  things  are  settled,  and  settled 
right,  it  is  an  impertinence  to  talk  of  a  profession. 
The  danger  The  incomplete  and  theoretical  character  of  much 
school  knowledge  is  brought  to  light  by  the  perfunc- 


tionofknowi-  torv  an(j   half-hearted   action  of   children  while   en- 
edge. 

gaged  in  school  work.     Good  study,  like  good  eating, 

is  marked  by  relish  and  appetite.  But  where  zest  is 
lacking,  work  is  spiritless  and  without  healthy  tone. 
When  the  strong  life  impulses  pour  themselves 
through  the  school  studies  the  latter  then  become  a 
part  of  the  child's  deeper  character-forming  experi- 
ence ;  that  is,  an  organic  part  of  life,  not  dead  matter 
wedged  in  between  the  living  tissues.  Children 
should  be  occupied  with  studies  which  spring  out  of 
and  return  into  their  interests,  which  call  out  the  full 
measure  of  their  volitional,  emotional,  and  active 
powers  as  well  as  the  intellectual,  all  of  which  to- 
gether give  complete  expression  to  their  life  impulses. 
A  theoretical,  bookish  knowledge,  to  which  our 
school  work  is  sometimes  limited,  not  only  gives  a 
torpid  intellectual  growth,  but  it  dwarfs  the  social 
activities.  It  is  fractional  and  does  not  compass  a 
child's  whole  life,  nor  reach  far  enough  into  his  own 
deeply  felt  experience  and  need.  It  does  not  fill  up 
the  measure  of  a  child's  spontaneous  action.  And 
this  many-sided  spontaneous  activity  of  children  is 
their  mode  of  applying  knowledge  to  life. 


GENERAL    NOTIONS    APPLIED  2  1/ 

If  we  neglect  some  of  the  normal  phases  of  child- 
activity,  as,  for  instance,  the  volitional  and  motor 
energies  used  in  applying  knowledge,  why  should  we 
expect  later  life  to  make  good  the  deficiency  ?  How 
can  a  schooling  which  is  not  full  enough  to  satisfy  a 
child's  -present  limited  needs  prepare  for  the  wider, 
more  complex  life  that  follows  school?  Adult  life 
is  an  expansion  of  child  life.  If  the  boy  is  a  theo- 
rist, seeking  no  useful  outlet  for  knowledge,  the  man 
will  probably  show  the  same  traits  in  an  accentuated 
degree.  If  the  child  life  is  incomplete  and  fractional, 
adult  life  will  show  the  same  defects.  The  only  kind 
of  knowledge  that  will  stand  the  test  of  later  years 
is  that  which  has  linked  itself  with  conduct  and  has 
thus  appeared  in  that  final  form  by  which  its  value  is 
tested  and  its  assimilation  into  life  rendered  complete. 
To  make  use  of  knowledge  as  it  accumulates  day  by 
day  is  to  rescue  it  from  theoretical  isolation,  is  to 
yoke  it  to  service  under  the  coercion  of  daily  needs. 

It  is  a  praiseworthy  economy  of  mental  labor  to 
sift  out  from  studies  that  knowledge  which  is  widely 
and  constantly  serviceable,  and  to  mass  the  effort 
upon  this  as  indispensable.  For  its  supreme  worth 
or  worthlessness  comes  out  only  in  use. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  collect  a  large  body  of  princi-  Howecon- 
ples  and  facts  which  have  no  present,  and  only  a 


possible  future  use  —  waste  material,  which  is  an  an-  the  applica- 

tion of  prin- 
noyance  m  the  learning  and  a  burden  to  the  memory,  dpies. 

The  simple  principles  of  the  English  language  come 


2l8  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

hourly  into  practice,  and  this  is  a  test  of  their  value 
as  being  worth  learning.  When  this  test  is  con- 
stantly made,  education  is  stripped  of  waste  and 
verbiage.  We  need  to  concentrate  our  efforts  along 
a  few  important  channels.  Education,  like  the  waters 
in  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi,  loses  depth  and 
carrying  power  as  it  spreads  out  into  divergent  chan- 
nels. Captain  Eads's  plan  of  the  jetties  of  the 
Mississippi  River  was  to  collect  as  much  water  as 
possible  into  a  single  narrow  channel,  and  to  scour 
out  a  serviceable  passage  across  the  bar.  Likewise, 
the  accumulation  of  thinking  power  upon  those  few 
principles  in  each  study  which  have  central  impor- 
tance and  perpetual  application  is  the  true  economy 
of  mental  effort.  Studies  which  fall  short  of  this 
useful  goal  cultivate  theorizing  and  even  do-noth- 
ing habits. 

Both  the  faults  as  well  as  the  merits  in  knowledge 
are  brought  out  by  use.  In  the  effort  to  use  acquired 
knowledge  the  partial  or  erroneous  views  come  dis- 
tinctly to  light.  Just  as  a  piece  of  machinery  when 
put  into  operation  reveals  at  once  any  friction  or 
imperfection  of  construction,  so  knowledge  newly 
acquired  is  thoroughly  tested  in  its  application.  In 
learning  a  modern  language,  like  French,  the  daily 
and  hourly  effort  to  use  the  new  rules  brings  out  a 
multitude  of  blunders,  but  at  the  same  time  begets 
constant  improvement  and  mastery  of  the  language. 
If  newly  gathered  knowledge  is  not  put  to  service, 


GENERAL  NOTIONS  APPLIED         219 

these  difficulties  do  not  appear,  and  we  are  led  to  a 
false  security,  a  self-satisfied  but  empty  presumption 
of  knowledge. 

On  account  of  this  varied  stress  upon  the  use  of  is  it  utiiita- 
knowledge,  can  we  be  charged  justly  with  lowering  stress^n7 
the  standard  of  education,  with  forgetting  higher  application? 
things  for  the  sake  of  direct  utility  ?  There  is  a 
lower  form  of  utility  which  reduces  everything  to 
the  standard  of  dollars  and  cents.  This,  of  course, 
is  to  be  rejected.  The  most  important  uses  of  knowl- 
edge and  power  cannot  be  estimated  in  money,  as, 
for  example,  the  services  of  a  parent  or  teacher  or 
friend,  and  it  is  these  higher  uses  of  knowledge 
which  it  is  the  preeminent  purpose  of  the  school  to 
cultivate.  The  great  principle  of  utility  is  right  and 
has  universal  value.  The  best  thing  that  can  be  said 
of  science  or  philosophy  or  religion  is  that  it  serves 
human  needs.  The  doctrine  of  service  is  too  vital 
and  too  deeply  felt  in  our  Christian  civilization  to 
need  any  defence.  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them.  We  have,  in  the  service  rendered,  an  infalli- 
ble test  of  the  value  of  the  man.  Knowledge  is  valu- 
able just  to  the  extent  to  which  it  can  be  transmuted 
into  some  form  of  useful  service. 

The  application  of  general  truths  falls  under  the  Howappiica- 
head  of  dediiction.      The  first  four  steps  are  indue-  ^ 
tive,  leading  up  from  particulars  to  generals  ;  the  last  principles, 
step  is  deductive.      Does  the  deductive  process  ex- 
pand and  amplify  our  experience,  or  does  it  simply 


22O  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

give  quickness  and  tact  in  the  use  of  what  we  have 
learned  ?  It  is  evident  that  the  inductive  process  of 
deriving  the  general  truth  can  touch  only  a  few 
cases,  i.e.  is  narrow  in  its  range.  In  treating  Minne- 
apolis as  a  trade  centre  and  as  a  type  of  cities  on 
the  upper  Mississippi,  a  general  truth  about  cities  as 
centres  of  trade  for  collecting,  manufacturing,  and  dis- 
tributing products  was  evolved.  But  in  applying  this 
truth  (deductive)  to  the  lake  cities  we  find  the  situa- 
tion similar  yet  different.  Albany  and  Troy,  Ban- 
gor  and  Augusta,  St.  John  and  Montreal,  furnish 
still  further  examples  of  trade  centres  in  lumber,  but 
under  quite  changed  circumstances.  Pittsburg  and 
Allegheny  are  fine  illustrations  of  the  notion  trade 
centre  in  other  products,  yet  still  more  divergent  from 
Minneapolis  than  those  mentioned  before.  Should  we 
compare  Minneapolis  with  Liverpool,  Glasgow,  Ham- 
burg, and  Naples,  we  should  find  the  same  notion 
operative  under  still  more  widely  differing  surround- 
ings and  conditions.  In  other  words,  the  continued 
application  of  the  idea  trade  centre  to  new  cities  not 
only  enlarges  the  number  of  objects  falling  within 
the  scope  of  the  idea,  but  multiplies  the  variety  of 
objects  coming  under  its  sway. 

In  the  study  of  the  milkweed  butterfly  the  first 
inductive  treatment  of  this  topic  is  confined  mainly 
to  this  one  species,  but  in  applying  the  general  idea 
of  metamorphosis  to  other  butterflies  we  find  great 
•variety  in  size,  color,  food-plants,,. habitat,  and  organs. 


GENERAL  NOTIONS  APPLIED         221 

Extending  this  application  to  moths,  another  large 
and  curious  field  of  insect  life  is  brought  under  trib- 
ute. Finally,  in  referring  the  idea  of  metamorphosis 
to  flies  and  other  insects,  we  are  astonished  at  the 
simplicity  of  the  law  that  pervades  so  great  a  variety 
of  insect  life.  In  the  application  of  such  a  general 
principle  or  law  we  are  constantly  introduced  to  new 
and  varied  fields  of  knowledge,  whose  meaning  is 
more  quickly  interpreted  and  more  intensely  felt 
because  of  its  identification  with  what  we  have 
already  learned. 

Moreover,  this  constant  variation  and  readjustment  Howversatii 
of  the  principle  to  new  objects  and  conditions  neces-  -^ applying 
sitates  a  genuine  thoughtfulness  at  every  step.  It  is  principles. 
not  a  mechanical  routine  which  simply  repeats  the 
same  action  time  and  again.  To  apply  general  notions 
requires  a  rational  self -activity.  We  never  meet 
exactly  the  same  situation  a  second  time.  The  stu- 
dent in  this  case  is  like  the  pilot  of  a  Mississippi 
steamboat.  He  must  know  not  only  the  large  bends 
and  currents  of  the  river,  but  also  the  shifting  of 
sand-bars,  the  new  obstructions  and  snags,  the 
changes  that  follow  a  freshet  in  cut-offs,  and  shift- 
ings  of  the  channel ;  in  other  words,  he  must  be  alive 
to  constant  alterations  and  emergencies.  Or  as  with 
the  military  strategist,  in  directing  the  movements  of 
an  army,  every  day  brings  a  new  situation,  makes 
necessary  a  recombination  of  forces.  Arithmetic  il- 
lustrates the  point  perfectly.  Every  new  problem  is 


\ 


222  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

a  new  and  somewhat  modified  application  of  the  prin- 
ciple, and  as  the  boy  advances  to  more  difficult  mis- 
cellaneous problems,  he  meets  more  complex  and 
intricate  embodiments  of  his  principle.  This  fits  him 
to  meet  the  usual  conditions  and  necessities  of  life. 
Every  day  brings  a  new  situation  requiring  thought- 
fulness  in  applying  knowledge  to  new  conditions. 

In  bringing  up  children  in  the  same  family  we 
have  a  striking  illustration  of  the  necessity  of  modi- 
fying our  application  of  principles  to  suit  different  in- 
dividualities. A  writer  like  Spencer  can  give  a  lucid 
statement  of  the  universal  truths  upon  which  the 
management  and  proper  training  of  children  should 
be  based.  A  father  tries  them  upon  one  child  in  the 
family  and  they  seem  to  work  admirably.  He  begins 
upon  the  next  child  in  the  same  way,  but  the  method 
seems  totally  at  fault.  Is  it  really  a  weakness  in  the 
principles  or  in  the  clumsy  method  of  applying  them  ? 
He  forgets  to  modify  and  adapt  them  to  the  new 
character.  This  adaptation  of  a  principle  to  changed 
or  more  complex  conditions  is  what  makes  the  applica- 
tion of  knowledge  so  difficult.  It  demands  constant 
thoughtfulness  and  prudence.  There  are,  indeed, 
kinds  of  business,  fragments  of  trades  in  factories 
and  shops  which  call  for  an  invariable  and  exact  rou- 
tine ;  for  instance,  the  carpenter  who  makes  one  in- 
variable design,  the  operator  who  simply  nails  heels 
to  shoes,  or  the  switchman  who  pulls  the  levers  of  an 
interlocking  switch.  But  these  people  do  not  de- 


GENERAL   NOTIONS   APPLIED  22$ 

velop  strength  and  versatility  of  character ;  in  fact, 
they  are  in  danger  of  becoming  fixed  in  a  narrow 
routine  which  unfits  them  for  doing  anything  else 
when  thrown  out  of  employment. 

From  this  standpoint  of  flexibility  in  the  use  of  Why  exact 
knowledge  (as  already  discussed  also  in  Chapter  VI)  noT the  best 
we  are  able  to  estimate  the  value  of  a  review  system  form  of 

application. 

which  simply  repeats  and  drills  upon  the  exact  form 
of  thought  and  expression  which  was  first  learned. 
There  is,  indeed,  no  objection  to  the  exact  formula- 
tion of  a  general  truth  nor  to  memorizing  it ;  but  flexi- 
bility in  its  application  is  more  important  than  verbal 
accuracy  in  its  statement. 

The  stated  reviews  which  drill  and  redrill  upon 
a  form  of  words  rather  than  upon  a  quick  interpre- 
tation of  a  principle  under  changes  and  disguises  is 
a  cramping  routine.  It  is  much  more  important 
that  a  child  shall  get  a  quick,  firm  grasp  of  a  gen- 
eral truth,  in  spite  of  its  Proteus-like  changes  of  form, 
than  that  he  should  be  held  to  an  invariable  formula 
in  its  statement.  Excessive  routine  drills  and  repe- 
titions give  thought  a  certain  cast-iron  inflexibility. 
This  fixedness  makes  knowledge  unmalleable.  It  is 
like  cold  iron  in  the  hands  of  a  blacksmith.  Our 
generalized  thought  needs  to  be  made  wonderfully 
pliant  and  flexible  so  as  to  shape  itself  to  a  thousand 
diversities  of  form.  Some  minds  have  a  photographic 
accuracy  in  regard  to  principles  and  details,  but 
mental  photographing  is  not  the  higher  form  of 


224  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

thinking.  Thought  when  rationalized  in  principles 
must  be  plastic  and  versatile. 

The  best  form  of  review,  therefore,  is  that  which 
springs  out  of  comparisons,  which  finds  in  the  new 
lessons  amplifications  of  old  principles,  which  makes 
every  lesson  a  review  of  old  knowledge  in  the  light 
of  new  experience.  Incidental  reviews  and  compari- 
sons, by  which  every  new  topic  is  incorporated  into 
the  body  of  our  previous  experiences,  are  the  rational 
form  of  study.  It  is  constantly  making  over,  modi- 
fying, and  expanding  the  old  thought  material.  The 
stated  periodical  review  presupposes  a  static  condition 
in  knowledge ;  such  knowledge,  when  finally  salted 
down,  partakes  of  the  nature  of  a  petrifaction  and 
lacks  that  fluidity  and  pervasiveness  which  make  it 
penetrate  and  permeate  every  nook  and  avenue  of 
experience. 

But  principles  lose  none  of  their  strength  and  sta- 
bility by  being  rendered  pliant  and  flexible.  Their 
constant  reappearance  and  identification  among  all 
the  forms  of  experience  show  that  they  are  con- 
stantly elaborated  out  of  past  thought  and  action, 
and  stand  ready  to  measure  up  and  test  new  data. 
Each  person  grows  out  of  his  own  past  into  the 
future.  The  field  for  the  wider  application  of  princi- 
ples is  our  own  present  and  new-entering  experience, 
not  some  terra  incognita  to  be  revealed  in  adult  life. 
Our  own  daily  life  and  surroundings  furnish  the 
perpetual  test  of  our  growing  maxims.  The  discovery 


GENERAL  NOTIONS  APPLIED          22$ 

of  such  pervading  principles  strengthens  the  per- 
sonality and  gives  a  centre  and  foundation  for  the 
character  to  rest  upon,  from  which  it  is  not  easily 
moved.  It  is  when  we  fail  to  find  an  anchorage  in 
such  fixed  yet  flexible  principles  that  we  shift  from 
day  to  day.  This  pliancy  of  knowledge  can  be 
secured  largely  in  the  natural  order  of  studies. 

Our  examination  of  the  school  studies  has  given  Mastery  of 
striking  proofs  of  the  necessity  for  the  perpetual  related  t"  ** 
use  of  knowledge,  following  close  upon  the  heels  of  g£eat  vfrietx 
acquisition.  It  is  indeed  a  serious  question  whether  cation, 
it  is  real  knowledge  until  it  has  been  apprenticed  to 
use  in  a  variety  of  ways.  When  one  or  two  arith- 
metical problems  have  been  worked  out  to  illustrate 
and  fix  a  rule,  it  is  not  claimed  that  the  principle  is 
fully  understood.  To  insure  more  thoroughness  in 
its  mastery,  problems  of  increasing  difficulty  are 
worked  out  and  explained.  Further  on,  miscellaneous 
problems,  involving  this  rule  in  conjunction  with 
others,  are  solved.  All  along  the  quickness  and 
versatility  of  the  children  are  exercised  upon  mental 
problems  involving  the  same  rules.  Even  after  all 
these  devices  and  tests  for  insuring  a  clear  recogni- 
tion of  the  rule,  under  the  various  disguises  in  which 
it  masquerades,  teachers  are  often  discouraged  by 
the  pupil's  apparent  blindness  to  the  principle.  The 
whole  round  of  inductions  and  applications,  if  neces- 
sary, must  be  repeated.  Among  various  difficulties, 
the  hardest  thing  in  the  whole  course  of  instruction 
Q 


226  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

is  to  learn  to  use  knowledge  rationally.  Memory 
work  is  trivial  compared  with  this  kind  of  thinking 
power.  This  fatal  weakness  shows  itself  among 
college  men,  scholars,  and  among  all  classes  of  even 
so-called  educated  people. 

The  same  difficulty  is  met  in  trying  to  get  the 
mastery  of  good  English.  Language  lessons  empha- 
size certain  correct  forms  and  usages,  e.g.  a  drill 
upon  the  rule  for  irregular  verbs  or  pronouns.  The 
children  see  the  old  error,  understand  the  principle, 
and  apply  it  to  a  few  sentences.  But  wrong  lan- 
guage habits  are  not  cured  and  remodelled  by  such 
brief  exercises.  In  geography  and  science  lessons, 
in  reading  and  history,  the  children  should  run  their 
language  into  these  new  and  better  moulds.  Else 
why  have  them  ?  Or,  if  you  like,  let  them  disregard 
in  history  and  geography  the  correct  usage  learned 
in  language.  The  children  are  encouraged  by  our 
indifference  and  neglect  to  violate  the  principles 
which  we  have  just  been  so  anxious  to  inculcate  (in 
another  study).  What  is  our  teaching,  then,  other 
than  a  succession  of  contradictions  ?  What  greater 
inconsistency  can  we  devise  than  to  teach  earnestly 
the  value  of  a  correct  principle  in  one  recitation,  and 
then  encourage  children  to  ignore  it  in  the  practice 
of  the  next  ?  What  is  worth  learning  in  one  lesson 
is  worth  practising  in  all  others  where  it  naturally 
reappears,  In  reading  we  insist  on  a  certain  excel- 
lence and  weed  out  the  faults.  It  is  equally  impor- 


GENERAL  NOTIONS  APPLIED          22/ 

tant  to  require  an  expressive  reading  when  reading 
is  incident  to  grammar,  arithmetic,  or  history.  This 
will  make  good  reading  natural  and  habitual.  Like- 
wise, if  a  round,  vertical  script  is  required  in  writing 
lessons,  let  the  same  excellent  penmanship  appear  in 
composition  exercises,  in  arithmetic,  in  board  work, 
briefly  in  all  necessary  written  work. 

In  view  of  the  principle  of  consistency  just  stated,  Each  study  a 
we  conclude  that  any  one  study  clearly  emphasizes  Catj0n  for P ' 
certain  ideas  and  principles  peculiar  to  that  subject,  other studies- 
till  they  stand  out,  in  theory  at  least,  with  clearness. 
The  other  studies  furnish  just  the  necessary  addi- 
tional opportunity  for  applying  these  ideas  and  prin- 
ciples till  they  are  converted  into  habit  and  become 
established  in  all  regular  usage.  In  pointing  out 
this  close  connection  we  see  how  indispensable  the 
branches  of  school  instruction  are  to  one  another. 
No  study  can  stand  upon  its  own  feet.  Complete 
efficiency  requires  that  all  studies  stand  close  to- 
gether in  mutual  support.  Complete  isolation  of 
different  studies  is  extremely  impractical  because 
it  destroys  this  opportunity  for  utilizing  knowledge. 
If  knowledge  is  not  complete  till  it  is  worked  over 
into  regular  practice,  it  is  just  as  important  to  apply 
knowledge  gained  in  one  study  to  other  studies  as 
to  get  the  theoretical  mastery  of  each  study  within 
its  own  realm. 

This  unity  and  interdependence  of  different  studies 
and  experiences  is  still  more  vital  in  the  important 


228 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


Moral  train- 
ing weak  on 
the  side  of 
application. 


realm  of  moral  education.  Moral  instruction,  by 
itself,  can  effect  little  if  anything.  The  moral  ideas 
scattered  through  reading,  history,  and  literature, 
no  matter  how  beautiful  and  impressive  they  may 
be,  need  to  reappear  in  all  the  studies,  and  especially 
in  all  the  conduct  incidental  to  the  discipline  and 
social  order  of  the  school.  Perhaps  the  chief  reason 
for  the  prevailing  scepticism  in  regard  to  the  value  of 
moral  instruction  in  schools  is  that  it  is  too  theoretical, 
too  much  divorced  from  practice.  Efficient  morality 
always  finds  an  expression  in  conduct,  in  the  appli- 
cation of  moral  principles  to  behavior.  In  this  respect 
there  is  no  study  or  phase  of  school  life  that  does  not 
need  to  be,  in  its  entire  inception  and  progress,  moral. 
So  important  is  the  practice  of  the  virtues  as  com- 
pared with  their  theoretical  treatment  that  many 
people  have  gone  to  the  extreme  of  putting  the 
whole  emphasis  upon  the  practice,  and  of  giving  no 
place  for  instructive  examples  and  illustrations  of 
moral  ideas.  As  if  conduct,  the  highest  and  most 
difficult  of  all  arts,  had  no  theoretical  basis  and  no 
rational  approach,  through  instruction,  to  its  diffi- 
culties and  opportunities.  The  subject-matter  of 
some  of  the  school  studies  is  prolific  in  moral  and 
social  ideas  and  examples,  while  all  the  studies, 
plays,  recesses,  and  social  experience  of  the  school 
furnish  a  broad  field  of  conduct  and  realization.  In- 
struction and  theory  must  culminate  in  use  or  fall  far 
short  of  any  practical  result. 


GENERAL    NOTIONS   APPLIED  22Q 

This  entire  discussion  confirms  us  in  the  judgment 
that  the  application  of  general  truths  to  a  great 
variety  of  uses  is  the  fifth  essential  step  in  all  good 
instruction.  The  school  in  all  departments  of  in- 
struction should  never  limit  itself  to  the  theoretical 
treatment  of  studies,  but  the  movement  toward  use 
and  application  should  be  strong  and  should  con- 
stantly pervade  all  school  effort.  Anything  short 
of  this  is  not  real  education  but  is  fractional  or  even 
abortive. 

There  are  two  important  principles  which  not  only  The  appii- 
demand,  but  constantly  work  out  this  translation  of  knowledge 
knowledge  into  power,  into  practical  service ;  namely,  |^  anTcor 
correlation    and    apperception.      The    examples    just  relation, 
given  of  the  close  interdependence  of  studies  fur- 
nish  one   of   the   strongest  arguments   in   favor  of 
correlation.     Apperception  in  every  lesson,  emphasizes 
the  turning  of  our  accumulated  store  of  knowledge 
into   service.     The  very  definition   of   apperception 
shows  that  new  information  can  only  be   acquired 
and  assimilated  through  the  interpretive  use  of  old 
ideas.     Apperception  throws  a  child  back  constantly 
upon  his  own  resources ;    upon  the  thoughtful  use 
of  acquired  knowledge  and  experience.      It  makes 
no  difference  from  what  study  or   source  the   old 
knowledge    springs.      The    geography    lesson    may 
draw  its  interpretive  materials  from  reading,  history, 
science,  or  the  playground.     The  whole  horizon  of 
experience  should  be  kept  in  sight   of  every  study. 


23O 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


This  is  the  true  thoughtfulness  and  self-activity.  It 
is  simply  a  restatement  in  pedagogical  terms  of 
the  old  parable  of  the  talents,  that  what  we  have 
inherited  or  accumulated  is  for  use  and  not  for 
hoarding. 

HOW  child  The  school  then,  like  life  itself,  is  as  much  a  place 
ii-  f°r  applying  as  for  accumulating  knowledge.  The 
traditional  idea  of  storing  up  knowledge  against  the 
evil  day  is  narrowing  and  cramping  in  its  influence 
upon  child  activity.  The  fact  that  children  have 
quick  memories  and  large  receptive  powers  is  not  a 
safe  ground  for  exclusive  memory  exercises.  For 
children  show  such  an  overplus  of  activity  in  ex- 
pressing and  using  their  fund  of  knowledge  that  the 
argument  in  favor  of  application  is  at  least  equally 
strong.  The  avenues  through  which  knowledge  can 
be  turned  into  use  in  childhood,  and  in  school  life 
itself,  are  so  numerous  as  to  constitute  a  full  share 
of  legitimate  child  life. 

There  is,  therefore,  a  broad  foundation  upon 
which  to  base  this  demand  for  the  full  and  com- 
plete expression  of  child  life.  Children  are  little  men 
and  women,  and  their  impulses  press  on  to  a  complete 
circuit  of  activity  ;  perceiving,  knowing,  feeling,  will- 
ing, or  doing.  In  this  series,  the  productive  and  con- 
structive use  of  knowledge  is  as  conspicuous  as  any 
other  phase  of  effort.  The  doing  always  rounds  out 
and  perfects  the  knowing.  Without  pressing  on  to 
this  final  test  of  knowledge  in  use,  the  child's  activ- 


GENERAL    NOTIONS   APPLIED  23! 

ity  is  prematurely  arrested.  On  the  other  hand, 
education,  by  its  excessively  theoretical  tendency, 
may  produce  a  whole  race  of  inefficient  and  imprac- 
tical men  and  women. 

In  all  the  essentials  of  character  and  power  such 
people  are  apt  to  be  weak  and  worthless.  They 
deceive  themselves  and  others  with  the  semblance 
of  learning  and  education,  but  they  are  inexpert  and 
bungling  in  important  affairs.  The  storage  theory  of 
knowledge  needs  to  be  reenf  orced  by  the  present  use 
theory,  which  organizes  and  unifies  the  incoming 
experience  and  gives  it  flexibility  and  aptness  for 
still  more  important  future  service. 

To  teach  children  how  to  apply  their  knowledge 
requires  much  painstaking  care  and  patience  in  the 
teacher.  It  is  in  their  first  efforts  to  apply  knowl- 
edge that  children  are  slow  and  bungling,  and  tax  the 
long-suffering  patience  of  teachers.  Many  a  mother 
has  made  the  fatal  blunder  of  not  letting  her  girls 
wash  dishes  or  sew  or  make  bread  (even  when  they 
wanted  to)  because  the  girls  were  so  awkward  and 
blundering  and  unsuccessful  in  their  first  efforts. 
The  mother  prefers  to  do  things  herself  rather  than 
let  the  girls  botch  their  work  and  waste  materials. 
But  the  only  road  to  success  lies  through  this  period 
of  awkward  and  sometimes  painful  effort. 

Even  with  our  present  methods  of  teaching,  the  Amount  of 
amount  of  time  spent  in  applying  principles  consti-  g^ento*' 
tutes  a  large  proportion  of  the  available  school  time,  application. 


232  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

In  arithmetic  three-fourths  of  all  the  time  is  spent 
in  applying  rules  to  problems  In  reading  a  still 
larger  proportion  is  spent  in  the  effort  to  put  in 
practice  the  few  simple  principles  of  oral  expres- 
sion. 

The  one  chief  purpose  of  language  lessons  is  to 
cultivate  the  proper  use  of  the  correct  forms  of  oral 
and  written  language.  In  grammar  the  parsing  and 
interpretation  of  the  rules  of  etymology  and  syntax, 
that  is,  application,  take  up  a  large  share  of  the 
study.  In  writing  and  spelling  we  may  say  that  the 
purpose  for  which  they  are  studied  is  the  necessity 
of  their  constant  use  in  other  branches.  Drawing 
is  now  felt  to  be  largely  tributary  (in  the  common 
school  grades)  to  the  other  studies  because  of  the 
service  it  can  render  in  more  clearly  defining  their 
objects  -and  conceptions.  In  history  and  geography 
it  would  be  more  difficult  to  show  the  immediate  uses 
of  the  knowledge  acquired.  This,  however,  is  largely 
due  to  our  faulty  methods  of  memorizing  facts,  in- 
stead of  studying  out  these  facts  in  their  important 
relations  and  uses.  A  general  view  of  our  school 
studies,  as  now  taught,  will  show  how  fundamental 
is  the  principle  of  the  application  of  knowledge. 

But  in  order  to  secure  the  proper  kind  of  think- 
ing, self-activity,  and  organization  of  knowledge, 
still  'more  time  will  have  to  be  given  to  application. 
We  are  not  wasting  time  when  we  stop  and  wait  for 
children  to  think  out  the  relations  and  use  of  what 


GENERAL  NOTIONS  APPLIED         233 

they  are  learning.  We  may,  indeed,  seem  to  move 
slowly,  but  we  are  moving  as  fast  as  their  thinking 
power  will  permit.  It  takes  time  for  children  to 
think  out  and  adapt  these  principles  to  new  and 
changed  conditions.  To  neglect  the  cultivation  of 
such  thinking  po\ver  as  this  for  the  sake  of  a  little 
verbal  fluency  and  memory  drill,  is  short-sightedness 
and  even  folly. 

In  saying  that  the  effort  to  apply  knowledge  is  Power  to 
laborious,   and   that   school   study  is   thus   rendered 


more  rigorous  and  severe,  we  may  seem  to  be  laying  source  of 
an  uncalled-for  burden  upon  school  children.  But 
children  will  find  in  such  applied  study  rich  com- 
pensation for  their  effort.  The  truest  satisfaction 
of  all  study  comes  from  the  conscious  power  to  make 
ready  use  of  it.  Knowledge  is  always  something  of 
a  burden  and  a  discouragement  till  it  has  found  an 
outlet  in  some  definite  form  of  utility.  There  is  no 
point  where  we  can  stop  in  this  movement  toward 
knowledge  and  feel  sure  of  its  value,  until  the  goal 
of  useful  application  is  reached.  The  real  irksome- 
ness  and  discouragement  of  study  do  not  spring 
from  proper  efforts  at  application,  but  from  the  dull, 
jjften  meaningless,  memory  drills,  which  do  not  even 
reach  forward  to  clear  knowledge,  to  say  nothing  of 
power  to  apply.  Knowledge,  which  thus  ends  in  a 
blind  alley,  and  finds  no  entrance  into  the  thorough- 
fares of  life,  is  a  deadening  influence  in  our  schools. 
it  produces  stagnation  in  voluntary  effort,  while 


234  METHOD   OF    RECITATION 

successful  application  of  newly  gathered  knowl- 
edge leads  out  into  the  clear  sunlight  of  conscious 
power. 

Children  who  have  learned  to  apply  one  lesson 
thoroughly  are  ready  and  eager  to  grapple  with  new 
problems.  There  is  no  better  test  of  successful 
progress  in  studies  than  this  power  to  render  prac- 
tical account  of  our  possessions,  and  there  is  no 
better  guarantee  for  future  energetic  effort. 

One  conclusion  that  springs  from  this  entire  dis- 
cussion is  that  the  proper  use  of  knowledge  has  to  be 
learned.  It  does  not  come  by  accident  or  inadvert- 
ence, but  is  the  result  of  definite  purpose  and  rigor- 
ous effort.  Even  if  later  life  with  its  severer  tests 
were  not  to  follow,  the  school  would  need  the  tonic 
of  this  kind  of  effort  to  adapt  and  use  knowledge 
in  order  to  bring  school  work  to  proper  unity  and 
completeness. 

We  may  now  glance  back  at  the  lesson  unit,  in  the 
treatment  of  which  application  is  the  final  step.  In 
working  up  to  a  general  truth  or  concept  through 
particulars,  we  have  followed  the  inductive  move- 
ment through  the  steps  of  preparation,  presentation, 
comparison,  and  generalization.  A  single  central 
thought  which  lies  at  the  root  of  the  lesson  unity 
has  dominated  the  entire  movement.  In  the  appli 
cation  we  are  still  operating  with  this  central  truth, 
turning  it  about,  testing  it  on  new  data,  and  detect- 
ing the  various  forms  in  which  it  clothes  itself.  The 


GENERAL  NOTIONS  APPLIED          23$ 

length  of  time,  that  is,  the  number  of  recitations 
required  in  working  out  this  general  truth  through 
all  the  five  steps,  depends  upon  the  simplicity  or 
complexity  of  the  central  truth  itself,  and  the 
amount  of  data  required  to  develop  and  apply  it. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   VALUE    OF   TYPES 

Relation  of  THE  magnet  which  lies  at  the  centre  of  every 
unity  to°the  weighty  lesson  is  the  general  truth  which  is  to  be 
general  truth,  worked  out  and  applied.  The  entire  foregoing  dis- 
cussion of  the  succession  of  steps  in  the  handling 
of  a  lesson  unity  unfolds  the  growth  of  a  general 
truth  in  the  mind.  A  proper  lesson  unity  is  a  topic 
which  has  such  an  embryo  truth  in  it,  and  the  lesson 
process  follows  the  growth  of  the  truth  in  the  child's 
mind  up  to  maturity  and  fruitage.  This  elaboration 
of  a  general  truth  involves  the  complete  circuit  of 
mental  action  from  the  observation  and  comparison 
of  particulars  up  to  the  clear  grasp  of  the  general 
notion,  and  back  again  to  a  broad  and  ready  inter- 
pretation in  its  light  of  the  varying  objects  and  situa- 
tions in  life. 

All  the  illustrative  lesson  unities  in  Chapters  II 
and  X  are  examples  of  the  working  out  and  appli- 
cation of  such  general  truths.  In  irrigation  is  ex- 
plained the  process  by  which  water  from  rivers  and 
lakes  is  brought  upon  arid  lands  and  utilized.  This 
process,  with  modifications,  is  the  same  for  hun- 
dreds of  irrigating  ditches,  and  presents  one  of  those 

236 


VALUE    OF    TYPES  237 

general  truths  of  agriculture  which  deserves  our 
attention.  In  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain  the 
independent  spirit  and  energy  of  the  common  peo- 
ple are  exhibited  in  a  striking  and  successful  raid 
against  the  English  troops.  By  a  close  comparison 
we  find  this  same  spirit  at  Bennington.  When  we 
come  to  expand  this  truth,  and  interpret  other  events 
in  its  light,  as,  for  example,  Bunker  Hill  and  The 
Cowpens,  we  find  this  spirit  breaking  out  on  many 
important  occasions.  In  other  words,  a  general  truth 
is  strongly  suggested  by  the  careful  study  and  com- 
parison of  two  battles,  and  this  is  the  chief  reason 
for  their  elaborate  presentation.  The  study  of 
Minneapolis  and  the  other  cities  of  the  Northwest 
was  to  set  forth  in  clear  and  unmistakable  outlines 
the  general  notion  of  a  trade  centre  in  lumber  and 
flour.  The  rule  for  the  addition  of  fractions,  the 
metamorphosis  of  the  milkweed  butterfly,  the  Golden 
Touch,  and  national  unity  illustrate  the  same  cen- 
tering of  a  whole  lesson  unity  in  a  single  thought  or 
general  notion.  How  to  get  at  these  general  truths 
is  undoubtedly  the  one  problem  of  recitation  method. 

How  far  does  the  study  of  types  render  us  direct  The  relation 
aid  in  the  struggle  to  master  general  truths?     The  ^e* genera/0 
very  word  type  seems  to  bridge  the  chasm  between  truth- 
the    particular   and    the   general.      The   type    itself 
is   always   an  object,   a    particular   thing,   action,  or 
process ;  but  in  so  far  as  it  is  a  type,  it  is  a  repre- 
sentative  object,   it   stands    for   a   whole    class,   the 


238  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

features  of  a  general  truth  shine  out  more  distinctly 
through  it  than  through  other  objects  of  the  same 
class.  We  say  that  Peter  Cartwright  was  a  type  of 
the  backwoods  itinerant  preachers.  Garrison  was 
a  type  of  the  uncompromising  abolitionists,  Asa 
Gray,  of  scientific  students,  Spurgeon,  of  Baptist 
preachers  of  England;  but  in  the  typical  or  repre- 
sentative man  the  general  truth  seems  to  stand  out 
enlarged,  magnified,  more  forcible  and  tangible  than 
in  the  average  man,  in  whom  it  seems  to  be  obscured 
by  dulness  or  personal  defects. 

is  the  type  a  A  type,  therefore,  has  all  the  interest  and  con- 
crete  intensity  of  a  particular  or  personal  and  con- 
spicuous object,  while  at  the  same  instant  it  displays 
to  the  thoughtful  person  the  clear  outline  of  a  general 
truth.  This  does  not  appear  to  the  child  at  first  as 
a  general  truth,  but  a  little  later,  by  comparison,  it 
is  brought  out  clearly.  If  general  truths  are  what 
we  aim  at,  and  if  the  type  points  the  way  to  the 
general  truth  with  greater  precision  and  strength, 
then  why  not  select  the  best  typical  objects  as  the 
centres  of  our  lesson  unities  ?  But  in  setting  up 
types  as  the  pivotal  points  in  recitation  method  we 
are  met  at  the  threshold  with  vigorous  objections. 
Are  we  trying  to  discover  or  invent  a  short-cut  from 
the  particular  to  the  general  notion  ?  Does  not 
induction  require  that  we  study  the  individuals  one 
by  one  before  comparing  and  deriving  the  general 
notion?  In  saying  that  a  type  is  both  particular 


VALUE   OF    TYPES  239 

and  general,  are  we  not  throwing  into  confusion  our 
whole  inductive  plan  ?  How  can  a  child  see  a  gen- 
eral notion  in  a  single  object  before  others  have 
been  brought  to  his  notice?  Of  what  value  is  the 
step  of  comparison  if  the  type  idea  in  a  single  object 
is  so  significant? 

The  answer  to  these  questions  and  objections 
may  reveal  to  us  more  definitely  than  any  other 
means  the  practical  and  modified  working  of  the 
inductive  process  in  dealing  with  the  new  forms  of 
truth  as  they  arise  in  children's  minds. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  study  of  a  type  is  a 
short-cut  toward  a  general  truth,  but  it  is  an  abbrevia- 
tion of  the  process  which  the  trained  scientific,  as 
well  as  the  untutored,  mind  inevitably  takes. 

A  child  first  makes  the  acquaintance  of  its  own 
father  through  a  multitude  of  successive  daily  experi- 
ences, revealing  many  sides  of  his  character.  A  little 
later,  in  meeting  other  fathers  in  the  neighborhood, 
he  is  inclined  to  project  this  familiar  notion  of  his  own 
father  into  these  other  fatherly  characters.  Certain 
it  is  that  he  does  not  make  a  second,  third,  and  fourth 
elaborate  study  of  neighboring  fathers,  and  then  sit 
down  and  patiently  compare  them  in  order  to  discover 
the  type  idea.  The  dominant  notion  in  the  child's 
mind  is  the  idea  of  his  own  father,  and  this  is  modi- 
fied from  time  to  time  by  the  incidental  experiences 
met  with  in  the  neighborhood.  Even  the  strict  and 
exact  scientist  in  collecting  his  data  for  later  ultimate 


24O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

comparison  and  conclusion,  projects  his  previous  ex- 
perience into  every  new  experiment,  avoiding  errors 
and  accelerating  his  observations  by  a  constant  refer- 
ence to  previous  knowledge.  The  ornithologist,  who 
studies  the  stomachs  of  birds  to  determine  the  char- 
acter of  their  food,  moves  up  gradually  to  his  final 
conclusion,  comparing  each  new  specimen,  in  part  at 
least,  with  the  average  of  his  previous  data. 

Strict  systematic  induction,  i.e.  a  careful  observa- 
tion of  one  specimen  or  example  after  another  and  a 
later  comparison,  is  almost  never  followed  in  the 
young  student,  and  is  only  realized  by  the  mature 
scientist.  Only  one  or  a  very  few  objects  are  carefully 
observed,  and  a  quick  observation  and  comparison 
of  a  much  wider  field  of  similar  objects  is  sufficient 
to  set  forth  the  general  truth.  Indeed,  we  cannot 
afford  the  time  for  a  full  and  elaborate  study  of 
many  specimens  of  a  class.  If  we  can  find  the  time 
for  a  careful  scrutiny  of  one  or  two  oak  trees,  we  can 
afford  to  take  a  swift  or  cursory  glance  at  other  oaks. 
For  the  average  student  this  is  all  that  can  be  ex- 
pected or  desired. 

And  yet  a  clear  general  notion  cannot  be  reached 
without  comparison.  A  number  of  similar  objects 
must  be  brought  together,  and  their  differences  and 
likenesses  distinctly  marked.  It  is  only  in  this  way 
that  the  generic  properties  can  stand  out  as  the  basis 
of  a  general  notion.  It  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to 
give  a  detailed  description  of  more  than  one  city  in 


VALUE   OF   TYPES  24! 

the  Northwest  like  Minneapolis,  or  of  more  than  one 
irrigating  ditch  in  the  West.  A  very  much  briefer 
account  of  other  lumbering  cities  and  other  irrigating 
ditches,  with  the  distinguishing  characteristics  and 
differences,  serves  all  the  purposes  of  comparison. 

We  cannot  fail  to  observe  that  some  objects  are  The  number 
very  much  better  types  of  the  class  to  which  they  ^es  needed 
belong  than  others.  Minneapolis  is  a  very  striking 
type  of  the  lumber  and  flour  city.  The  milkweed 
butterfly  is  a  conspicuous  common  species  of  butter- 
flies. Daniel  Boone  is  almost  a  perfect  type  of  the 
backwoodsman  and  Indian  fighter.  The  Hudson  is 
a  remarkably  clear  and  majestic  type  of  our  naviga- 
ble rivers.  Daniel  Webster  is  our  preeminent  orator, 
much  more  distinctly  so  than  Calhoun  or  John  Quincy 
Adams  or  Sumner.  Mount  Shasta  is  a  remarkable 
type  of  extinct  volcanoes.  Study  it  in  the  elaborate 
monograph  by  J.  S.  Diller,  and  make  the  brief  com- 
parisons he  suggests  with  other  volcanoes,  and  you 
have  an  excellent  treatise  on  volcanoes,  and  get  a 
fine  appreciation  of  the  general  truths  which  they  all 
illustrate.  Study  the  life  of  Samuel  Adams  in  Hos- 
mer's  biography.  You  become  intensely  interested 
in  a  man  of  peculiar  force  of  character.  The  scenes 
in  Boston  in  which  he  figured  as  a  controlling  spirit 
are  among  the  most  picturesque  and  important  events 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Looked  at  from  the 
standpoint  of  a  personal  history,  it  is  as  thrilling  and 
instructive  as  one  of  the  great  novels.  But  compare 


242  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

Samuel  Adams  with  three  or  four  other  prominent 
characters  about  Boston,  —  Governor  Hutchinson, 
James  Otis,  John  Adams,  and  John  Hancock,  —  and 
you  will  get  at  the  very  nucleus  of  New  England  his- 
tory during  that  most  stirring  period.  After  such  a 
comparison  you  will  see  that  Samuel  Adams  stands 
forth  as  the  representative  Puritan  leader  of  New  Eng- 
land, the  acknowledged  type  and  embodiment  of  the 
spirit  which  animated  thousands  of  lesser  Puritans. 

For  all  the  practical  purposes  of  life  we  must  con- 
tent ourselves  mainly  with  the  study  of  such  types. 
We  have  neither  the  time  nor  the  strength  to  study 
all  the  Adamses  in  equal  detail,  to  say  nothing  of 
all  the  Smiths  and  Browns.  We  simply  cannot  enter 
into  the  details  of  all  the  important  statesmen,  volca- 
noes, rivers,  cities,  or  butterflies.  Good  teaching  in 
most  studies  depends  first  of  all  .upon  a  careful  selec- 
tion of  a  few  best  types.  Instead,  therefore,  of  spread- 
ing our  attention  over  a  great  multitude  of  facts,  we 
pick  out  a  few  important  centres.  Around  these  we 
gather  a  large  body  of  facts ;  we  trace  out  the  causal 
relations  of  the  central  type  object  to  its  environment, 
and  finally  we  discover  by  comparing  it  with  other 
similar  things  that  it  is  the  representative  of  a  law 
which  repeats  itself  in  scores  or  thousands  of  other 
cases.  It  stands  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  facts  all 
of  which  obey  the  same  command. 

But  nearly  all  objects  and  phenomena  in  nature 
are  essentially  typical  in  their  deeper-lying  charac- 


VALUE   OF   TYPES  243 

teristics.  How,  then,  may  we  select  among  objects 
all  of  which  are  types  ?  Even  if  all  objects  were 
equally  typical  of  the  classes  to  which  they  belong, 
it  would  be  a  necessary  economy  of  effort  to  pick 
out  and  make  a  careful  study  of  a  few,  with  later 
comparisons,  in  order  to  get  a  quick  and  sure  mastery 
of  the  many.  But  objects  differ  greatly,  as  noted 
above,  in  their  typical  or  representative  power.  The 
value  of  any  type  as  the  principal  basis  of  a  lesson 
unity  (be  it  an  event,  a  person,  or  a  natural  object) 
lies  in  the  strength  and  reach  of  its  representative 
qualities.  The  sunflower  is  a  much  more  striking 
type  of  compound  flower  than  is  the  wild  aster  or 
even  the  dandelion.  The  Colorado  River  is  the  most 
conspicuous  type  of  canon-making  streams.  For  ma- 
ture minds,  at  least,  Shakespeare  is  one  of  the  few 
best  poets  for  study,  because  of  the  preeminence  of 
the  cardinal  poetic  qualities  in  him.  And  among 
the  masterpieces  of  any  great  author  some  are  more 
typical  than  others.  Among  the  Waverley  novels, 
for  instance,  "Ivanhoe"  gives  the  most  vivid  and  real- 
istic pictures  of  feudalism  which  Scott  delights  so 
much  in  portraying.  In  selecting  the  complete  mas- 
terpieces of  literature  for  regular  use  in  reading 
classes,  we  cannot  be  satisfied  with  anything  less 
than  the  best  typical  poems,  essays,  and  speeches  of 
our  American  and  English  masters. 

Some  trees  in  the  forest  strike  their  roots  deeper 
into  the  soil,  spread  their  branches  wider,  and  tower 


244  METHOD   OF    RECITATION 

higher  than  their  fellows.  This  is  far  more  the  case 
in  human  life  and  history.  Some  men  project  their 
influence  throughout  whole  nations  and  stand  forth 
noticeably  as  representative  leaders  of  millions  of 
their  fellow-citizens.  Emerson  in  his  "  Representa- 
tive Men  "  has  shown  clearly  that  their  power  lay  in 
their  ability  to  absorb  into  their  own  lives  the  great 
typical  ideas  and  impulses  that  were  abroad  among 
their  fellow-men.  This  simplifies  history.  It  is  only 
in  this  way  that  we  feeble  mortals  can  grasp  the 
meaning  of  large,  complex,  political,  and  social  phe- 
nomena. We  see  the  essential  features  of  a  wide- 
spread movement  incorporated  into  the  striking 
personal  traits  of  a  Gladstone  or  Luther,  and  what 
was  before  complex  and  obscure  flashes  forth  in  a 
simplicity  which  the  commonest  intelligence  can 
grasp.  Some  men  have  not  only  towered  above  their 
contemporaries,  but  have  wrought  an  influence  so 
colossal  and  so  typical  as  to  overshadow  centuries 
and  even  thousands  of  years  in  the  lives  of  great 
nations.  Such  were  Homer,  Moses,  and  Aristotle. 
Types  as  In  all  our  preceding  chapters  we  have  had  oppor- 

wTs^cT"        tunity  to  see  the  variety  and  importance  of  general 
lesson  truths  in  different  studies.     In  our  present  discussion 

unities. 

we  discover  that  these  general  truths  clothe  them- 
selves, to  a  large  degree,  in  striking  types.  Peda- 
gogically  considered,  these  types  should  stand  at  the 
entrance  to  the  important  avenues  of  truth  in  nearly 
every  study.  This  fact  will  be  of  great  service  to  us 


VALUE    OF   TYPES  245 

when  compelled  to  face  the  problem  of  selecting 
those  topics  in  each  study  which  contain  the  best 
lesson  unities.  This  problem  is  now  upon  us  in 
American  schools.  We  are  now  sifting  out  and 
measuring  up  the  school  branches  more  thoroughly 
than  ever  before.  The  whole  question  of  relative 
values  of  studies  and  of  the  comparative  worth  of 
different  topics  in  a  study  is  distinctly  before  our 
schoolmasters.  The  presumption  of  our  present  dis- 
cussion is  that  the  key  to  the  interpretation  of  this 
problem  will  be  found  in  the  selection  of  types. 

Summing  up  the  answers  to  objections  against  the 
use  of  types,  we  may  say :  the  well-selected  type  is 
a  short-cut  in  the  inductive  thought  movement  from 
particular  to  general.  But  it  is  a  short-cut  which  not 
only  children  but  even  scientific  thinkers  are  com- 
pelled to  take.  The  well  chosen  type  is  a  combina- 
tion of  the  particular  and  the  general,  the  graphic 
elements  of  the  concrete  being  mingled  with  the 
striking  features  of  the  general  notion.  To  disengage 
this  general  notion  and  bring  it  clearly  into  the  light 
a  comparison  of  several  similar  objects  with  the  type 
is  necessary.  This  is  the  natural  and  necessary 
method  of  abbreviating  the  inductive  process.  With- 
out confusion,  therefore,  the  type  combines  the  two 
fundamental  elements  of  all  clear  thinking :  first  the 
concrete  basis  and  second  the  outline  or  index  of  a 
general  truth. 

In  surveying   some  prospective  field  of  study,  as 


246  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

Types  as  grammar  or  geography,  before  approaching  it  with 
points  in  children  for  purposes  of  conquest,  shall  we  look 
instruction.  UpOn  ft  as  a  simple  accumulation  of  facts,  as  a  dead 
level  of  equally  important  truths,  like  so  many  hills 
of  corn  in  a  field,  all  to  be  cultivated  with  equal 
care,  or  as  a  few  central  truths  to  be  completely 
mastered  and  applied?  Is  the  field  of  knowledge 
like  a  field  of  ripened  wheat,  swath  after  swath  of 
v  which  is  levelled  by  the  sturdy  reaper  till  all  is  laid 
low?  We  know  that  machines  have  been  made  to 
do  this  kind  of  monotonous,  mechanical  work  even 
better  than  the  sturdiest  human  arms.  But  the 
healthy  acquisition  of  knowledge  (in  spite  of  its 
labor  and  partial  drudgery)  is  not  much  like  this 
monotonous  level  of  mechanical  effort.  As  one  sur- 
veys a  field  of  study  he  discovers  that  some  facts  are 
more  important,  tenfold,  a  hundred-fold  more  impor- 
tant than  others.  The  field  of  knowledge  resembles 
a  mountainous  district  rather  than  a  plain.  To  get 
the  broadest  views  one  must  climb  the  highest  ridges 
and  summits.  The  knowledge  embraced  in  any 
branch  of  study  is  not  to  be  considered  as  a  miscel- 
laneous accumulation  of  facts,  nor  even  as  a  well- 
ordered  but  monotonous  series  of  facts,  to  be  simply 
memorized  or  stored  away ;  but  it  is  a  field  of  con- 
quest which  can  be  best  brought  under  control  by 
taking  possession  of  its  strong,  strategic  positions. 

When  the  Prussians  invaded  France  in  1870  they 
did  not  scatter  themselves  broadly  over  the  whole 


VALUE   OF   TYPES 

of  eastern  France,  stopping  to  plunder  every  village, 
city,  and  hamlet,  but  they  concentrated  their  armies 
upon  a  few  of  the  great  frontier  fortresses,  till  they 
had  fought  and  forced  them  into  surrender.  When 
Strasburg  and  Metz  and  Sedan  were  taken,  they  had 
a  firm  hold  on  eastern  France.  They  then  turned 
the  march  of  their  converging  hosts  upon  Paris,  the 
citadel  of  France,  with  results  which  approved  their 
wisdom.  The  reduction  of  the  less  important  towns 
and  districts  was  accomplished  at  their  leisure. 

In  a  similar  way  we  should  plan  the  conquest  of  a 
field  of  knowledge.  As  teachers,  therefore,  there  is 
laid  upon  us  the  necessity,  before  entering  upon  the 
conquest,  of  surveying  the  field  and  of  selecting  the 
strategic  points  (the  lesson  units)  upon  which  we  will 
concentrate  our  forces. 

It  is  interesting,  by  the  way,  to  notice  what  HOW  to  si* 
masterly  qualifications  this  implies  in  the  person  who 
lays  out  the  series  of  lesson  topics  in  a  branch  of 
study.  It  implies  a  mastery  of  the  subject  far  beyond 
what  is  commonly  regarded  as  a  knowledge  of  its 
facts.  Facts  must  be  sifted  out,  their  relative  worth 
and  rank  determined.  The  types  must  be  chosen 
which  are  most  important  in  their  individual  influence 
and  in  their  representative  character.  A  review  of  the 
types  worked  over  in  Chapters  II  and  XI  will  show  that 
any  given  type  is  important  for  two  reasons:  first, 
because  it  stands  deeply  rooted  in  a  large  environ- 
ment of  facts,  which  find  in  it  a  central,  controlling 


248  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

idea;  and,  second,  because  of  its  representative  quality, 
by  which,  even  in  this  deep  setting  of  environing 
facts,  it  proclaims  the  characteristics  belonging  to  a 
large  class. 

It  may  be  stated  as  a  general  proposition  that 
most  of  our  lesson  unities  will  find  their  embodiment 
in  these  types.  But  as  all  objects  are  more  or  less 
typical,  and  as  every  study  contains  ten  times  as 
many  topics,  all  typical,  as  can  be  properly  treated 
in  school  exercises,  the  necessity  for  a  choice  becomes 
apparent.  It  is  customary  to  compromise  this  dif- 
ficulty by  spreading  effort  equally  over  the  whole 
body  of  facts,  in  geography,  for  example;  but  this 
is  like  the  farmer  trying  to  cultivate  a  thousand  acres 
when  he  has  just  force  enough  to  cultivate  properly 
a  hundred.  Some  types  are  many  fold  more  important 
than  others,  both  in  their  root-connections  and  in  their 
exhibition  of  generic  qualities.  This  is  shown  above 
by  numerous  examples.  Children  often  spend  as 
much,  if  not  more,  time  in  learning  some  trivial  fact 
as  in  the  effort  to  grasp  some  event  whose  deeper 
meaning  spreads  light  far  and  wide  throughout  a 
whole  subject.  Such  a  fact,  interpreted  in  its  causal 
relations  and  seen  in  its  representative  character,  may 
swing  the  intelligence  into  the  track  of  some  universal 
law,  as  of  gravitation  or  of  evolution.  Examples  of 
this  preeminence  of  certain  types  may  be  found  in 
many  studies.  The  oak  tree  is.  such  a  type  among 
trees  and  vegetation,  the  beaver  among  animals,  the 


VALUE   OF   TYPES  249 

silkworm  or  butterfly  among  insects,  Mount  Washing- 
ton and  Pike's  Peak  among  mountains,  the  Mississippi 
among  great  rivers,  Livingstone  among  explorers, 
Bismarck  among  statesmen,  Darwin  among  scientists. 

Certain  events  in  history  stand  out  as  landmarks.  A  historical 
The  year  1787  records  a  number  of  important  events,  ' 
among  them  the  meeting  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention at  Philadelphia.  At  the  time  it  probably  at- 
tracted much  less  attention  than  our  last  presidential 
election.  But  consider  what  a  tree  was  there  planted, 
what  a  growth  it  has  since  had,  and  how  it  has  spread 
its  branches  over  a  continent.  The  constitution  then 
adopted  not  only  brought  into  union  and  harmony 
the  demoralized  and  antagonistic  governments  of  the 
thirteen  colonies,  but  determined  beforehand  the 
framework  of  new  commonwealths  as  they  have 
sprung  up  in  rapid  succession.  Politically,  we  have 
been  living  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  in  the 
house  which  they  built.  We  elect  our  governors, 
judges,  congresses,  and  presidents  at  the  time  and  in 
the  manner  which  they  specified.  The  constitution 
has  been  of  unmeasured  influence  upon  our  history 
for  more  than  a  century  and  will  continue,  in  all 
probability,  to  augment  its  influence  for  centuries  to 
come.  We  pride  ourselves  also  that  it  has  been  the 
type  of  popular,  democratic  governments  the  world 
over.  It  has  been  the  model  upon  which  other  free, 
representative  states  in  South  America  and  Europe 
have  been  constructed.  In  other  words,  in  studying 


25O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

the  work  of  the  federal  convention,  we  are  dealing 
with  a  few  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  govern- 
ment in  their  preeminent  type,  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.  The  meeting  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention is  an  event  of  such  transcendent  importance, 
the  causes  which  led  up  to  it  are  so  deeply  rooted  in 
the  early  history  of  the  colonies,  it  brought  together 
so  many  of  the  wisest  heads  of  the  time  in  great 
deliberate  council,  and  the  influences  that  have  flowed 
from  it  are  so  vast,  that  we  can  afford  to  spend  more 
time  upon  it  than  upon  any  other  single  event  in 
American  history.  Other  so-called  important  events  of 
1787,  as  compared  with  this,  are  insignificant. 

The  meaning  of  such  an  event  lies  in  its  deep 
generic  quality  and  in  its  wide-reaching  causal  re- 
lations. Such  a  topic  is  a  citadel  of  strength  in  his- 
torical study.  It  cannot  be  adequately  surveyed  in 
a  single  recitation.  It  will  take  many  recitations  to 
gather  up  and  focus  the  necessary  tributary  facts, 
to  organize  them  around  the  central  event.  But 
when  it  has  been  properly  done,  a  view-point  has  been 
gained  from  which  we  may  rationally  survey  and  in- 
terpret a  large  extent  of  otherwise  unrelated  events. 

Now  it  is  evident  that  if  so  much  time  is  given  to 
the  extended  treatment  of  such  an  important  event, 
a  corresponding  amount  must  be  subtracted  from  the 
time  now  given  to  a  number  of  lesser  topics,  It  may 
mean  that  the  selection  and  adequate  treatment  of 
such  types  involves  the  expulsion,  as  topics,  of  a 


VALUE    OF   TYPES  251 

host  of  minor  events.  But  many  of  them  will  re- 
appear in  their  proper  setting  as  secondary  to  the 
main  topics.  It  is  clear  that  such  a  full  handling  of 
central  types  is  based  upon  a  rigid  ranking  of  events 
according  to  their  true  value. 

The  concentration  of  effort  upon  such  topics,  with 
their  related  material,  enables  us  to  ground  our  work 
upon  those  natural  laws  of  association  upon  which 
memory  and  reason  rest.  The  links  which  bind 
together  such  a  large  complex  of  facts  are  the  ideas 
of  similarity  and  of  causal  relation.  The  body  of 
facts  contained  in  any  given  study  needs  to  be  or- 
ganized around  a  few  centres,  which  thus  reduce  a  large 
and  intricate  collection  of  data  to  comparative  sim- 
plicity, and  put  it  under  easy  control.  Just  as  a  city 
in  the  midst  of  a  productive  and  populous  region,  by 
means  of  its  numerous  radiating  lines  of  traffic,  centres 
in  itself  the  collection  and  distribution  of  products, 
so  an  important  type,  by  its  representative  character 
and  causal  relations,  centralizes  and  organizes  a 
large  accumulation  of  facts,  and  leaves  thought  free 
to  issue  forth  in  every  direction  from  this  stronghold, 
working  its  interchanges  along  the  great  traffic  lines 
of  association. 

The  selection  of  the  important  typical  lesson 
unities  in  a  study  will  be  found  later  to  pave  the  way 
for  the  solution  of  two  large  problems  which  the 
teacher  is  sure  to  meet,  —  correlation  and  scientific 
arrangement. 


252  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

In  the  very  process  of  careful  selection  and  elabo 
rate  treatment  of  a  type  we  meet  unavoidably  this 
correlation,  or  close  interrelation  of  studies.  In  treat- 
ing the  Hudson  River  as  a  type  we  come  upon  the 
mountains,  forests,  water  power,  and  manufacturing 
of  its  upper  course;  the  navigation,  cities,  railroads, 
and  scenery  of  its  lower  course ;  its  commercial  con- 
nections by  canal  with  the  coal  fields  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  the  forests  of  the  north  by  canal  to  Lake 
Champlain,  with  the  Great  Lakes  by  the  Erie  Canal 
along  the  Mohawk  to  Buffalo.  The  harbor  and  city 
of  New  York,  and  their  easy  connections  with  the 
Great  Lakes  and  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley,  are 
on  one  side,  with  the  Atlantic  coast  and  the  marts  of 
Europe  on  the  other.  Historically,  the  Hudson  is 
very  attractive :  Hudson  and  his  early  exploration 
and  his  contact  with  the  Indians,  the  first  Dutch 
settlers,  Washington  and  his  campaigns  along  the 
Hudson,  the  old  forts  and  battle  scenes,  Arnold  and 
Andre",  Burgoyne's  invasion  and  its  attendant  battles 
and  strategies.  In  literature,  Irving  has  made  cer- 
tain spots  on  its  banks  as  famous  as  the  old  battle 
grounds.  These  stories  our  children  use  in  their 
regular  reading  lessons.  From  a  purely  scientific 
standpoint,  the  great  drowned  river  valley,  its  pal- 
isades, mountains,  and  incoming  ocean  tides  are  at 
once  suggested. 

The  moment  we  begin  to  treat  the  Hudson  River 
as  an  important  and  typical  object  in  this  rich  and 


VALUE    OF    TYPES 

fruitful  way,  we  are  certain  to  run  across  these  rela- 
tions of  the  geography  to  history,  literature,  and 
natural  science.  Not  that  we  are  forced  in  the  geog- 
raphy lesson  to  give  the  historical  or  literary  or  sci- 
entific treatment.  But  the  Hudson  River  as  a  whole 
has  these  historical  and  scientific  and  literary  facts 
and  associations  as  well  as  the  geographical.  Nor 
can  we  dig  deep  among  the  geographical  facts  with- 
out running  across  these  root-connections  with  the 
other  studies.  It  is  just  at  this  point  that  the  prob- 
lem of  correlation  must  be  met  and  solved,  not  by 
mixing  and  jumbling  the  studies,  but  by  tracing  in 
each  study  these  deeper  relations  to  others. 

So  long  as  geography  study  consists  in  locating 
and  learning  the  names  of  cities,  rivers,  and  moun- 
tains (this  surface  survey  of  geographical  facts),  we 
shall  not  be  troubled  with  the  problem  of  correlation. 
But  take  some  large  geographical  type  and  begin  to 
turn  up  the  deep,  rich  fund  of  detailed  knowledge 
involved  in  it,  and  at  once  this  strong  network  of 
deep  and  important  relations  between  studies  is  en- 
countered. 

Not  only  is  there  an  important  collection  of  geo- 
graphical facts  (physical,  commercial,  industrial,  and 
political),  all  firmly  linked  together  by  strong  causal 
relations,  but  naturally  included  within  the  same 
area  and  explained  by  this  very  environment  are  the 
scientific,  historical,  and  literary  facts  which  cannot 
be  kept  out  of  sight.  They  are  all  bound  up  together 


254  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

in  one  great  picture  or  panoramic  view  in  the  very 
setting  in  which  nature  and  the  growth  of  human 
society  have  put  them. 

The  object  of  correlation  is  not  to  invent  or  fix  up 
relations  between  studies,  but  simply  to  see  facts 
and  objects  in  those  natural  and  necessary  relations 
in  which  they  actually  stand  and  without  which  they 
have  no  meaning.  The  concentration  of  study  upon 
an  important  type  is  the  choice  opportunity  for  get- 
ting into  a  nest  of  these  naturally  correlated  facts. 
The  superficial  survey  of  facts  in  a  branch  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  strict  isolation  of  studies  from  one 
another  are  the  teacher's  artificial  method  of  exclud- 
ing life  and  meaning  from  studies. 

Such  types  are  not  at  all  difficult  to  find  in  geog- 
raphy, history,  natural  science,  and  literature.  The 
itemized,  connected  life  history  of  an  oak  through 
its  years  of  germination,  growth,  fruit-bearing,  and  final 
decay,  is  a  close  study  of  the  tree  in  its  relations  to 
minerals  and  soils,  of  the  physical  and  chemical 
processes  in  the  tissues,  bark,  and  leaves,  of  atmos- 
pheric and  climatic  condition,  of  insect  and  bird 
Me  among  its  branches,  and  of  the  clouds  and  sun- 
light above  its  head.  The  oak  tree  as  a  botanical 
specimen  is  rooted  and  all  its  parts  live  in  the  close 
environment  of  the  other  sciences.  Here  are  several 
sciences  in  such  intimate  relation  that  no  absolute 
lines  of  distinction  can  be  drawn.  Practically,  how- 
ever, there  need  be  no  mixing  or  confusion  of  sci- 


t  VALUE   OF   TYPES  25$ 

ences  because  the  central  topic  is  a  purely  botanical 
one  and  puts  the  other  sciences  under  tribute  only 
to  the  extent  that  they  can  help  to  understand  the 
important  phases  of  the  tree's  life. 

But  this  typical  object,  standing  in  this  environ-  Types  as 
ment  of  closely  related  facts,  towers  above  them,  and  scientific 
teaches  still  higher  truths,  setting  into  prominence  classesand 
those  larger  scientific  classifications  and  laws  which 
interpret  the  phenomena  of  nature  and  of  human  life 
on  a  broad  scale.  Looked  at  from  the  standpoint 
of  botany,  the  full  study  of  the  oak  brings  out  a 
great  type  of  vegetable  growth.  The  type  idea,  when 
clearly  revealed  by  comparisons  with  other  trees  and 
vegetable  forms,  not  only  stands  as  the  representative 
of  forest  trees,  easily  observed  by  all  children,  but 
illustrates  similar  processes  throughout  all  forms  of 
vegetation.  Even  a  child  may  thus  wake  up  to  the 
presence  of  great,  universal  laws,  closely  observed  in 
a  few  typical  cases,  but  easily  detected  in  many  others. 
The  elaborate  study  of  types  is,  therefore,  the  best 
approach  to  scientific  classes  and  principles. 

Isolate  one  of  these  type  objects,  tear  it  loose  from 
its  root-connections,  and  it  is  no  longer  a  type.  Its 
deep  setting  and  intimate  vital  relation  to  environ- 
ment constitute  a  share  of  its  typical  character.  As 
the  oak  tree,  uprooted  by  the  storm,  lies  dead,  no 
longer  a  type  of  living  forces,  so  a  lesson  topic  loos- 
ened from  its  natural  setting  has  no  life,  no  vital 
force  as  educative  material. 


256  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

In  summarizing  the  points  of  value  in  type  studies 
we  may  note  :  — 

1.  The  type  furnishes  us  a  centre  around  which  to 
collect   the  material   for  induction  in  the   first   four 
steps. 

2.  The  type   is   extremely   concrete   while    strik- 
ingly characteristic  in  its  exhibition  of  generic  quali- 
ties. 

3.  The  sifting  out  of  the  best  types  in  a  study 
gives  us  a  series  of   great  lesson  units,  or  strategic 
points,  whose  mastery  gives  us  the  control  of  a  whole 
study. 

4.  The  deepening  of  the  type  study  uncovers  those 
radical  relations  between  studies  which  give  a  real 
meaning  to  the  term  correlation. 

5.  The  general  classes  and  truths,  which  the  types 
prefigure,  constitute  the  scientific  framework  of  the 
study  and  at  the  same  time  furnish  the  nuclei  for 
lesson  unities  capable  of  treatment  according  to  the 
five  steps  of  instruction. 


CHAPTER   XI 

ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS 

IN  this  chapter  three  lesson  unities  are  worked 
out  through  the  five  formal  steps,  for  the  purpose 
of  illustrating  more  definitely  the  inductive-deduc- 
tive movement  in  the  treatment  of  such  important 
topics. 

To  work  out  such  a  lesson  unity  through  all 
the  essential  steps  may  require  several  recitation 
periods.  The  lesson  on  irrigation  will  take  proba- 
bly four  or  five  recitation  periods  of  half  an  hour 
each. 

The  Irrigation  of  Arid  Lands 

First  Step.  —  How  can  the  dry  lands  of  some 
of  our  far  Western  states  be  watered  from  the 
rivers  ? 

How  are  our  farms  and  gardens  in  Illinois  sup- 
plied with  moisture  ?  Do  you  know  of  any  of  our 
states  where  there  is  little  or  no  rainfall  on  the 
plains  ?  Point  out  on  the  map  the  dry  region  along 
the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  What  do 
you  know  from  your  geographies  of  the  climate  of 
this  strip  of  country?  What  business  may  be  car- 
s  257 


258  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

ried  on  here  ?  Grazing  and  mining.  Have  you 
heard  of  people  who  crossed  the  <r  plains  "  ?  Where 
are  the  plains  ?  Recall  Fremont's  trip  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Can  crops  of  grain  or  vegetables  be 
raised  on  the  plains  ?  What  are  the  difficulties  ? 
What  rivers  flow  across  this  region  and  in  which 
direction  ?  Would  it  be  possible  to  get  the  water 
from  these  rivers  upon  the  dry  uplands,  so  as  to  use 
them  for  purposes  of  agriculture  ?  Tell  what  you 
may  have  heard  of  irrigating  ditches. 

Second  Step.  —  The  strip  of  country  just  east  of 
the  mountains  in  Colorado  is  very  dry.  There  is 
almost  constant  sunshine,  and  very  little  rain,  so 
that,  though  the  soil  is  good,  it  bears  only  a  thin, 
scattering  buffalo  grass,  and  most  of  the  year  the 
country  looks  almost  as  barren  as  a  desert.  To 
explain  fully  the  process  of  irrigating  by  ditches, 
"The  Big  Ditch,"  which  is  drawn  from  the  South 
Fork  of  the  Platte  near  Denver,  is  described  as 
follows  :  — 

In  order  to  show  the  position  of  this  ditch  and 
its  relation  to  the  river,  the  mountains,  and  the 
slopes,  a  map  of  the  region  about  Denver  is  neces- 
sary, showing  the  South  Fork  of  the  Platte  River, 
the  mountains  and  foot-hills,  and  the  slope  on  which 
the  ditch  is  laid  out. 

The  South  Fork  of  the  Platte  River,  after  drain- 
ing South  Park,  breaks  through  the  foot-hills  and 
descends  to  the  northeast  through  the  great  plain 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS 


259 


A.  A.  A.  —  Main  chain  of  the 

Rocky  Mountains. 

B.  B.  B.  —  Foot-hills. 

C.  C.  C  —  South  Fork  of  the 

Platte. 

D.  —  Denver. 

E.  —  The  dam. 


F.  F.  F.— The  ditch. 

G.  G.  G.  —  Cherry  creek. 
H.  H.  H.  —  Watershed. 
I.  I.  —  Clear  creek. 

K.  —  Georgetown. 
P.  —  Pike's  Peak. 
S.  S.  — South  Park. 


26O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

lying  east  of  the  mountains.  Southeast  of  the  Platte 
a  high  watershed  extends  out  from  the  mountains, 
separating  the  valley  of  the  Platte  from  the  valley 
of  the  Arkansas,  still  farther  south.  Pike's  Peak, 
a  prominent  spur  of  the  mountains,  lies  a  little  south 
of  this  watershed.  From  the  foot-hills  the  country 
slopes  eastward  toward  the  Platte  as  indicated  by 
the  small  streams  descending  from  the  mountains. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  Platte  the  land  slopes 
gradually  from  the  height  of  land  to  the  northwest, 
as  indicated  by  Cherry  creek  and  other  streams, 
which,  however,  are  dry  most  of  the  year. 

This  gently  sloping  land  has  a  good  soil,  but  on 
account  of  the  dry  weather  has  only  a  scant  growth 
of  buffalo  grass,  useful  for  cattle-grazing.  Denver 
lies  at  the  junction  of  the  Platte  River  and  Cherry 
creek,  and  other  cities  like  Georgetown  and  Black 
Hawk  are  located  in  the  valleys  of  the  mountains. 
The  Platte  River  emerges  from  the  mountains  or  foot- 
hills about  twenty-one  miles  southwest  of  Denver. 

Between  the  Platte  River  and  the  watershed  on  the 
southeast  is  a  large  area  of  gently  sloping  country, 
part  of  which  it  was  proposed  to  bring  under  irriga- 
tion by  means  of  a  large  ditch  taken  from  the  Platte 
River.  Can  you  devise  a  plan  by  which  the  water  from 
the  river  can  be  brought  upon  this  plain  ?  Where 
should  the  ditch  begin,  which  way  should  it  extend, 
and  in  what  direction  should  the  water  flow  through 
it?  In  order  to  get  the  water  at  a  high  level,  so  as  to 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  26 1 

carry  the  water  as  high  along  the  slope  as  possible, 
the  engineers,  following  the  stream  into  the  moun- 
tains, constructed  a  dam  in  the  river  three  miles  above 
the  point  where  it  emerges  from  the  foot-hills.  The 
river  itself  descends  rapidly  as  it  rushes  down  through 
the  canon  and  out  into  the  open  plain.  But  the  big 
ditch  which  is  taken  from  the  river  at  the  dam  is 
carried  along  the  canon  in  an  artificially  constructed 
channel  with  a  slow  current,  so  that,  as  it  emerges 
from  the  mouth  of  the  canon,  the  channel  of  the 
ditch  is  some  twenty  feet  or  more  higher  up  than  the 
current  of  the  river.  What  special  advantage  (for 
irrigation)  is  it  to  have  the  level  of  the  ditch  twenty 
feet  above  the  current  in  the  river  ? 

Near  where  the  river  emerges  from  the  mountains 
a  small  stream  comes  into  the  Platte  from  the  south, 
and  the  Big  Ditch  is  turned  back  along  this  valley, 
and,  after  crossing  it,  is  kept  as  far  back  from  the 
Platte  River  and  as  high  up  along  the  slope  as  pos- 
sible. Why  do  they  wish  to  keep  the  ditch  as  far 
away  from  the  Platte  as  possible  ?  As  it  extends  to 
the  northeast  the  distance  from  the  Platte  River  grad- 
ually increases  till  at  Denver  it  is  eight  or  ten  miles 
from  the  city,  where  it  crosses  Cherry  creek. 

After  reaching  the  plain  just  east  of  the  moun- 
tains, the  Big  Ditch  was  made  by  digging  a  channel 
in  the  earth,  about  forty  feet  wide,  and  when  the 
water  was  let  in,  about  six  or  seven  feet  deep  in  the 
middle.  In  digging  this  great  trench  on  which  side 


262  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

of  the  channel  would  the  dirt  be  thrown,  and  why  ? 
The  digging  required  the  labor  of  hundreds  of  men 
with  teams  and  scrapers  and  other  machines  for  re- 
moving dirt.  The  work  lasted  many  months  ?nd 
cost  many  thousands  of  dollars.  In  some  places 
the  ditch  resembles  great  railroad  cuts  through  a 
hilly  country. 

When  it  was  brought  to  one  of  the  deep  gullies 
or  dry  runs,  which  are  frequent  on  the  plains,  it  was 
necessary  in  some  way  to  get  it  across.  The  largest 
and  widest  of  these  is  the  valley  of  Cherry  creek,  a 
half  mile  or  more  in  width  in  many  places.  What 
can  you  suggest  as  a  good  plan  for  getting  a  large 
ditch  across  one  of  these  valleys  ?  Sometimes  a 
"  flume  "  or  aqueduct  was  built  consisting  of  a  great 
wooden  trough,  supported  by  heavy  piles  or  posts, 
like  a  railroad  bridge.  This  trough  must  be  wide 
and  deep  enough  to  carry  the  full  stream  of  water 
in  the  ditch.  The  seams  and  cracks  between  the 
boards  were  filled  and  calked  up  so  as  to  permit  as 
little  leakage  as  possible. 

The  water  with  which  the  ditch  is  supplied  comes 
from  the  river.  But  how  does  the  river  get  its  sup- 
ply in  such  a  dry  country  ?  It  has  been  observed 
that  there  is  a  much  greater  rainfall  and  snowfall 
among  the  mountains  and  along  the  higher  ridges 
than  on  the  level  plains  to  the  east.  The  cold  moun- 
tain sides  condense  the  moisture  into  rain  and  snow. 
The  mountain  peaks  and  ranges  have  frequent  rain 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  263 

and  snowstorms  when  no  moisture  falls  upon  the 
plains.  The  forest  and  vegetation  upon  the  moun- 
tain slopes  hold  back  the  moisture  also.  In  the 
spring,  when  the  warm  sun  melts  the  snows,  and  in 
April  and  May  when  the  spring  rains  come,  the  rivers 
are  flooded.  An  immense  amount  of  water,  at  this 
season,  escapes  down  the  river  and  is  lost  unless  it 
can  be  stored  up  in  reservoirs  for  use  two  or  three 
months  later,  when  it  will  be  greatly  needed.  Where 
could  such  reservoirs  be  built?  These  reservoirs 
were  constructed  at  various  points  along  the  Big 
Ditch  by  building  dams  across  the  valleys  or  along 
the  edge  of  tracts  of  low-lying  land.  But  in  spite 
of  these  reservoirs  the  amount  of  water  is  sometimes 
insufficient  to  supply  all  the  land  during  the  spring 
and  summer  season  of  irrigation. 

Many  smaller  ditches  were  built  by  the  farmers 
or  by  small  irrigation  companies  before  the  Big  Ditch 
was  constructed  in  1881.  Although  lower  down  on 
the  river,  they  have  the  prior  claim,  or  water  right, 
and  it  is  only  after  they  have  been  supplied  that  the 
Big  Ditch  (later  built)  can  take  the  water  from  the 
river.  Who  settles  such  disputes  ?  The  legislature 
of  the  state,  meeting  at  Denver,  makes  the  laws 
regulating  the  division  and  use  of  the  water  supply 
among  the  different  ditch  companies. 

How  can  the  water  be  drawn  off  from  the  ditch 
and  distributed  to  the  farmers  ?  When  the  Big  Ditch 
has  been  liberally  supplied  with  water,  it  is  drawn 


264  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

off  through  wooden  boxings  or  through  gates  to  irri- 
gate the  separate  fields.  The  boxing  through  which 
the  water  escapes  from  the  main  ditch  passes  under 
the  embankment  on  the  lower  side.  At  the  upper 
end  it  is  below  the  level  of  water  in  the  ditch.  At 
the  lower  end  is  an  upright  slide  or  board  which,  be- 
ing lifted,  lets  out  the  water,  or  by  dropping  it  and 
throwing  loose  dirt  about  it  in  the  boxing,  the  flow  of 
water  is  stopped.  Regular  officers,  or  water  inspect- 
ors, are  employed  to  pass  along  the  ditches  and  to 
regulate  the  amount  of  water  sent  out  to  the  differ- 
ent farms,  also  to  keep  careful  watch  over  the  ditch 
banks,  reservoirs,  flumes,  etc.  Sometimes,  in  case  of 
rains  and  freshets,  the  ditch  threatens  to  fill  up  and 
break  over  its  banks,  wasting  the  water  and  injuring 
ditch  and  crops.  In  such  cases  how  can  the  excess  of 
water  be  turned  off?  Gates  are  opened  at  the  flumes 
which  allow  the  water  to  run  off  down  the  valleys. 
Usually  a  larger  boxing  lets  out  enough  water  to  form 
quite  a  good-sized  ditch,  from  two  to  six  feet  across. 
This  may  skirt  the  edges  of  a  number  of  farms  and 
from  it  the  water  is  turned  off  in  small  channels  to 
the  separate  farms  and  fields.  At  what  point  should 
a  ditch  enter  a  farm  ?  The  fields  are  irrigated  in 
different  ways.  A  wheat-field  or  meadow  is  some- 
times flooded ;  in  a  corn-field  the  water  is  often  run 
down  in  small  furrows  between  each  two  rows. 
When  sufficient  moisture  is  secured  for  a  thorough 
wetting,  the  mouth  of  the  ditch  is  closed  up  with  a 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  265 

few  shovels  of  dirt,  and  for  a  week  or  two  the  water 
is  not  turned  on  again.  Most  of  the  land  slopes  so 
regularly  and  evenly  toward  the  river  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  irrigate  it  fully. 

How  do  the  farmers  measure  and  pay  for  water? 
The  ditch  company  usually  sells  the  water  to  the 
farmers  by  the  inch,  the  amount  of  water  passing 
through  a  hole  an  inch  square  being  enough  to  irri- 
gate an  acre.  The  cost  of  an  inch  of  water  is  some- 
times from  $  i . 50  to  $2.50.  The  ditch  company,  having 
spent  large  sums  of  money  in  digging  the  ditch  and 
in  buying  up  the  land,  is  justified  in  charging  a 
rental  for  the  use  of  the  water. 

The  effect  of  bringing  a  district  of  apparently 
desert  country  under  irrigation  is  very  striking. 
Fields  of  grain,  meadows  of  alfalfa  and  other  grasses, 
corn-fields,  and  vegetable  gardens  cover  the  country. 
Groves  of  shade  trees  and  fruit  orchards  soon  grow 
up,  roads  are  laid  out,  fences,  barns,  and  houses  built, 
and  the  whole  country  takes  on  much  of  the  appear- 
ance of  a  flourishing  Illinois  prairie  in  springtime, 
Wells  are  dug  and  are  well  supplied  with  water, 
so  thoroughly  does  the  water  saturate  the  whole  soil. 
In  the  fall  and  winter  the  ditches  are  left  dry. 
Land  below  the  ditch  (between  the  river  and  the 
rl.itch)  becomes  worth  $40  or  $50  to  the  acre,  while 
just  as  good  land  above  the  level  of  the  ditch, 
only  a  few  rods  away,  is  worth  but  $5  or  $6  an 
acre  for  grazing  purposes.  It  is  claimed  by  the 


266  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

farmers  that  irrigation  is  a  more  reliable  and  satis- 
factory method  of  agriculture  than  farming  in  Iowa 
or  Illinois,  where  dependence  must  be  placed  upon 
the  natural  rainfall.  What  are  the  advantages  of 
farming  by  irrigation  ?  One  farmer  told  me  that  in 
thirty-three  years  he  had  never  had  a  failure  of  a  crop 
upon  a  single  field.  The  abundant  sunshine  can  be 
counted  upon  to  ripen  grains  and  fruits. 

The  northwest  slope  of  the  Platte  River  (between 
the  river  and  the  foot-hills)  is  supplied  with  water  in 
a  somewhat  different  way.  Quite  a  number  of  small 
streams  come  down  out  of  the  mountains  and  foot- 
hills and  wind  eastward  across  the  slope  to  join  the 
Platte.  Between  the  mountains  and  the  river  at 
Denver,  this  rich  level  or  rolling  plain  is  about  ten 
miles  wide  and  is  a  garden  of  beauty  and  abundance. 
The  small  mountain  streams  moving  eastward  toward 
the  Platte  are  dammed  up  at  favorable  points  so  as 
to  form  ponds  or  lakes.  From  one  of  these  lakes 
the  slopes  lower  down  the  valley  of  the  little  stream 
may  be  supplied  with  water  by  small  ditches  running 
out  from  the  lake  on  either  side.  A  stream  may  be 
dammed  up  in  several  places  and  thus  constitute 
a  series  of  irrigating  lakes.  From  the  foot-hills  a 
thousand  feet  above  the  plain  one  can  count  more 
than  a  score  of  these  small  lakes  which  preserve  the 
abundance  of  the  spring  waters  for  the  use  of  the 
farmers  in  the  summer  time. 

On  each  side  of  the  Platte  River,  therefore,  there  is 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  267 

ft,  strip  of  well-irrigated  land  for  many  miles.  What 
sort  of  market  would  you  expect  for  the  products 
of  irrigation  ?  The  city  of  Denver,  with  one  hundred 
and  thirty  thousand  people,  furnishes  a  good  mar- 
ket for  much  of  this  produce.  Locate  the  chief  min- 
ing towns  within  one  hundred  fifty  miles  of  Den- 
ver. An  examination  of  the  map  of  Colorado  will 
show  along  the  foot-hills  a  series  of  mining  towns 
such  as  Black  Hawk,  Boulder,  Georgetown,  Golden 
City,  and  Canon  City,  while  a  few  miles  back  on  the 
plains  are  towns  and  cities  like  Greeley,  Denver,  Colo- 
rado Springs,  and  Pueblo,  which  make  a  large  de- 
mand for  vegetables,  grain,  grasses,  and  fruits.  Un- 
less they  are  raised  by  irrigation  in  Colorado,  these 
necessary  supplies  will  have  to  be  shipped  several 
hundred  miles,  from  Kansas  or  Nebraska,  or  from 
Utah.  A  ready  market  at  good  prices  is  pretty  cer- 
tain to  be  found  near  at  hand  for  all  the  products 
raised  by  irrigation. 

In  a  brief  review  of  the  Big  Ditch  point  out  clearly 
its  relation  to  the  climate  of  Colorado,  to  the  surface 
features  and  soil,  to  the  rainfall,  to  cities  and  mining, 
to  government,  and  to  commerce  and  population. 

The  first  important  river  to  the  south  of  the  Platte 
is  the  Arkansas,  which  issues  through  the  main  ridge 
of  the  Rockies  by  way  of  the  Grand  Canon  not  far 
from  Cafion  City.  As  it  comes  put  upon  the  eastern 
plains,  its  waters  are  drawn  off  in  ditches  to  water 
the  lower  lands  near  the  river.  Even  as  far  as 


268  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

western  Kansas  it  is  used  for  irrigation  by  means 
of  ditches.  In  southern  Colorado  and  west  of  the 
main  chain  of  the  Rockies,  the  Rio  Grande,  as  it 
flows  southward  through  San  Louis  Park,  is  drawn 
off  in  ditches  to  enrich  this  fruitful  valley,  and  south- 
ward into  New  Mexico  the  waters  of  this  river  are 
used  for  irrigation.  In  northern  Colorado  and  in 
southern  Wyoming  the  North  Fork  of  the  Platte 
and  its  branches  are  used  for  irrigation,  and  large 
reservoirs  or  artificial  lakes,  many  miles  in  length, 
have  been  constructed  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
the  spring  floods  in  reserve. 

Third  Step.  —  Compare  now  these  four  rivers  — 
the  South  Fork  of  the  Platte,  the  North  Fork  of  the 
Platte,  the  Arkansas,  and  the  Rio  Grande  —  as  related 
to  the  mountains  and  plains,  as  situated  in  reference 
to  the  mining  cities,  and  as  illustrating  facts  of  irri- 
gation as  now  carried  on.  What  is  the  relative  im- 
portance of  the  small  streams  as  compared  with  the 
large  ones  for  purposes  of  irrigation  ? 

Fourth  Step.  —  In  summing  up  the  common  features 
of  these  river  valleys  we  may  observe  that  they  are 
all  in  an  arid  region,  that  they  derive  their  water 
supply  from  the  mountains ;  as  they  emerge  into  the 
plains  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  their  waters  are 
carried  out  to  enrich  the  plains  by  means  of  artificial 
channels.  The  smaller  tributary  streams  are  used  in 
a  similar  way.  The  presence  of  important  mining 
cities  near  these  river  valleys  and  in  them  makes  a 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  269 

ready  market  for  all  the  products  raised  by  irriga- 
tion. The  present  wealth  and  population  of  these 
districts  depend  largely  upon  the  irrigating  ditches. 

Fifth  Step.  —  The  school  children,  having  seen 
clearly  the  conditions  under  which  irrigation  is 
possible,  and  the  means  by  which  it  is  carried  on, 
will  be  able  to  extend  its  application  over  a  number 
of  states  and  territories  where  similar  conditions 
of  climate,  soil,  and  surface  features  are  repeated. 
By  a  study  of  the  maps  and  the  descriptive  parts  of 
their  geographies  they  should  be  able  to  locate  the 
arid  regions  and  determine  what  rivers  are  useful 
for  irrigation.  Are  the  rivers  of  California  irriga- 
tion streams  ?  Of  Utah  ?  Of  Washington  and  Mon- 
tana ?  Finally  locate  the  arid  regions  of  the  United 
States  and  compare  them  in  size  with  the  portions 
which  have  sufficient  rainfall  for  purposes  of  agri- 
culture. Could  the  rivers  of  your  native  state  be 
used  for  purposes  of  irrigation  if  rain  were  lacking  ? 
For  example,  the  Illinois,  the  Hudson,  the  Minne- 
sota, the  Tennessee  ?  What  have  you  heard  of  irri- 
gating farms  in  Dakota  and  other  states  by  means  of 
artesian  wells  ?  Various  attempts  of  this  sort  have 
been  made.  What  are  the  difficulties  likely  to  be  ? 

In  the  later  study  of  Africa,  Asia,  and  South 
America  we  may  interpret  plans  of  irrigation  in 
other  lands  and  compare  them  with  ours. 


27O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


The  Battle  of  King's  Mountain  and  the  Temper  of 
the  Common  People  during  the  Revolutionary  War 

First  Step.  —  We  will  see  how  the  backwoodsmen 
of  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Virginia  prepared 
a  surprise  for  Cornwallis  and  the  British  army. 
After  the  battle  of  Camden,  what  was  the  condition 
of  things  in  the  Carolinas  ?  Where  was  Gates's  army  ? 
What  was  Cornwallis's  plan  ?  Will  the  people  of  the 
South  attempt  any  further  resistance  to  Cornwallis  ? 

A  survey  of  the  situation  at  this  time  will  lead 
the  children  to  the  conclusion  that  Cornwallis  and 
the  British  were  in  high  hopes  after  the  battle  of 
Camden,  and  that  the  Americans  were  scattered  and 
discouraged.  Let  the  class  study  the  maps  and  books, 
and  get  a  clear  view  of  this  discouraging  situation. 
Cornwallis  seemed  to  be  in  full  control  of  South 
Carolina,  and  by  cooperating  with  troops  sent  to 
Virginia  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  planning  to  bring 
North  Carolina  and  the  whole  South  into  complete 
subjection  to  the  royal  cause.  We  will  see  how 
the  common  people  acted  under  these  depressing 
conditions. 

Second  Step.  —  In  the  mountainous  districts  of 
western  Carolina,  in  Tennessee  and  Virginia,  were 
scattered  settlements  of  backwoodsmen  who  had 
never  submitted  to  the  king.  Cornwallis  now  sent 
Major  Patrick  Ferguson,  with  twelve  hundred  men, 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  2/1 

on  a  foraging  march  into  the  rough  country  of  west- 
ern North  Carolina,  with  instructions  to  scour  the 
mountain  region  between  the  Catawba  and  the  Yad- 
kin,  harass  the  patriots,  encourage  the  Tories,  and 
gather  in  royalist  recruits.  At  Charlotte,  in  North 
Carolina,  he  was  to  rejoin  Cornwallis's  army.  What 
sort  of  country  had  Ferguson  to  travel  through  ? 
Would  the  backwoodsmen  be  likely  to  disturb  him  ? 
What  sort  of  training  in  fighting  had  they  had  ? 

As  Ferguson  marched  into  this  wild  region  he 
found  the  people  very  unfriendly.  Instead  of  sell- 
ing their  provisions  to  British  soldiers,  they  dis- 
tressed them  by  shooting  down  stragglers  and 
messengers,  and  cutting  off  supplies  from  the  Brit- 
ish army.  Neither  Ferguson  nor  Cornwallis  was 
expecting  serious  opposition  from  large  bodies  of 
American  troops.  Yet  it  was  very  difficult  for  the 
British  to  march  through  such  a  rugged  and  wild 
country.  Besides,  the  Americans  could  sometimes 
bring  together  considerable  companies  of  swift 
horsemen,  who  did  great  damage  to  detachments 
of  the  British  army. 

The  story  of  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain  is 
thus  told  in  Irving  and  Fiske's  "  Washington  and  his 
Country,"  pp.  423-427.  Let  the  teacher  tell  the 
story,  throwing  in  questions  when  needed. 

"This  hostility  of  the  patriots  was  a  sore  annoy- 
ance to  Cornwallis,  depriving  him  of  all  intelligence 
concerning  the  movements  of  Ferguson,  whose  ar- 


2/2  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

rival  he  was  anxiously  awaiting.  That  doughty 
partisan  officer  was  on  his  way  to  join  Cornwallis 
when  a  chance  for  a  signal  exploit  presented  itself. 
An  American  force  under  Colonel  Elijah  Clark,  of 
Georgia,  was  retreating  to  the  mountain  districts  of 
North  Carolina,  after  an  unsuccessful  attack  upon 
the  British  post  at  Augusta.  Ferguson  resolved  to 
cut  off  their  retreat.  Turning  toward  the  moun- 
tains, he  made  his  way  through  a  rugged  wilderness 
and  took  post  at  Gilbert-town,  a  small  frontier  vil- 
lage of  log  houses.  He  was  encouraged  to  this  step 
by  the  persuasion  that  there  was  no  force  in  that 
part  of  the  country  able  to  look  him  in  the  face.  He 
had  no  idea  that  the  behavior  of  his  followers  had 
arrayed  the  very  wilderness  against  him.  (What  sort 
of  treatment  had  the  patriots  in  the  South  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  British  ?)  The  scattered  inhab- 
itants of  the  mountains  assembled  without  noise  or 
warning;  a  hardy  race,  half  huntsmen,  half  herds- 
men, inhabiting  deep,  narrow  valleys  and  fertile 
slopes,  adapted  to  grazing,  watered  by  the  coldest  of 
springs  and  brightest  of  streams,  and  embosomed  in 
mighty  forest  trees.  Being  subject  to  inroads  and 
surprisals  from  the  Indians,  a  tacit  league  existed 
among  them  for  mutual  defence,  and  it  only  needed, 
as  in  the  present  instance,  an  alarm  to  be  circulated 
through  their  settlements  by  swift  messengers  to 
bring  them  at  once  to  the  point  of  danger.  (Against 
what  Indians  had  the  early  settlers  of  this  region 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  2/3 

fought  ?)  Now  from  the  upland  regions  of  Kentucky, 
Virginia,  Tennessee,  and  the  Carolinas  these  bold 
backwoodsmen  assembled  to  the  number  of  three 
thousand,  led  by  their  militia  colonels,  Campbell, 
Shelby,  Williams,  Cleveland,  McDowell,  and  Sevier. 

"Threatened  by  a  force  so  superior  in  numbers 
and  fierce  in  hostility,  Ferguson  remembered  the 
instructions  of  Cornwallis,  and  breaking  up  his 
quarters  he  pushed  for  the  British  army,  sending 
messengers  ahead  to  apprise  his  lordship  of  the 
danger.  Unfortunately  for  him,  his  missives  were 
intercepted.  (What  might  Cornwallis  have  done  to 
help  Ferguson  ?) 

"  Gilbert-town  had  not  long  been  vacated  by  Fer- 
guson and  his  troops  when  the  motley  host  of  moun- 
taineers thronged  in.  The  greater  part  were  on 
horseback.  Some  were  in  homespun  garb,  but  the 
most  part  in  hunting  shirts,  occasionally  decorated 
with  colored  fringe  and  tassels.  Each  man  had  his 
long  rifle  and  hunting-knife,  his  wallet,  or  knapsack, 
and  blanket,  and  either  a  buck's  tail  or  sprig  of 
evergreen  in  his  hat.  Here  and  there  an  officer 
appeared  in  the  continental  uniform  of  blue  and 
buff,  but  most  preferred  the  half-Indian  hunting 
dress.  There  was  neither  tent  nor  equipage,  neither 
baggage  nor  wagon,  to  encumber  the  movements  of 
that  extemporaneous  host.  Prompt  warriors  of  the 
wilderness,  with  them  it  was  'Seize  the  weapon  — 
spring  into  the  saddle  —  and  away ! '  In  going  into 


2/4  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

action,  it  was  their  practice  to  dismount  and  tie  their 
horses,  so  as  to  have  them  at  hand  for  use  after 
battle,  either  to  pursue  a  flying  enemy  or  make  their 
own  escape  by  dint  of  hoof. 

"  There  was  a  clamor  of  tongues  for  a  time  at  Gil- 
bert-town ;  groups  on  horseback  and  foot  in  every 
part,  holding  hasty  council.  Being  told  that  Fer- 
guson had  retreated  by  the  Cherokee  road  toward 
North  Carolina,  about  nine  hundred  of  the  hardiest 
and  best  mounted  set  out  in  urgent  pursuit,  leaving 
those  who  were  on  foot,  or  weakly  mounted,  to  fol- 
low as  fast  as  possible.  Colonel  William  Campbell, 
of  Virginia,  having  come  from  the  greatest  distance, 
was  allowed  to  have  command  of  the  whole  party ; 
but  there  was  not  much  order  or  subordination. 
Each  colonel  led  his  own  men  in  his  own  way.  A 
rapid  and  irregular  march  was  kept  up  all  night  in 
murky  darkness  and  through  a  heavy  rain.  About 
daybreak  they  crossed  Broad  River,  where  an  attack 
was  apprehended.  Not  finding  the  enemy,  they 
halted,  lit  their  fires,  made  their  morning's  meal, 
and  took  a  brief  repose.  By  nine  o'clock  they  were 
again  on  the  march.  The  rainy  night  had  been 
succeeded  by  a  bright  October  morning,  and  all 
were  in  high  spirits.  Ferguson,  they  learned,  had 
taken  the  road  toward  King's  Mountain,  about 
twelve  miles  distant.  When  within  three  miles  of 
it,  their  scouts  brought  in  word  that  he  had  taken 
post  on  its  summit.  The  officers  now  held  a  short 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  2/5 

consultation  on  horseback,  and  then  proceeded. 
The  position  taken  by  Ferguson  was  a  strong  one. 
King's  Mountain  rises  out  of  a  broken  country,  and 
is  detached,  on  the  north,  from  inferior  heights  by  a 
deep  valley,  so  as  to  resemble  an  insulated  promon- 
tory about  half  a  mile  in  length,  with  sloping  sides 
excepting  on  the  north.  The  Mountain  was  covered 
for  the  most  part  with  lofty  forest  trees,  free  from 
underwood,  interspersed  with  boulders  and  masses 
of  gray  rock.  The  forest  was  sufficiently  open  to 
give  free  passage  to  horsemen.  As  the  Americans 
drew  nearer,  they  could  occasionally,  through  open- 
ings of  the  woodland,  descry  the  glittering  of  arms 
along  a  level  ridge,  forming  the  crest  of  King's 
Mountain.  This  Ferguson  had  made  his  strong- 
hold, boasting  that  'if  all  the  rebels  out  of  hell 
should  attack  him,  they  could  not  drive  him  from 
it.'  (Why  was  this  a  strong  position  for  Ferguson's 
army  ?  How  could  the  Americans  best  manage  the 
attack  ?) 

"  Dismounting  at  a  small  stream  which  runs 
through  a  ravine,  the  Americans  picketed  their 
horses,  or  tied  them  to  the  branches  of  the  trees,  and 
gave  them  in  charge  of  a  small  guard.  They  then 
formed  themselves  into  three  divisions  of  nearly 
equal  size,  and  prepared  to  storm  the  heights  on  three 
sides.  Campbell,  seconded  by  Shelby,  was  to  lead 
the  centre  division ;  Sevier  with  McDowell,  the  right ; 
and  Cleveland  and  Williams,  the  left. 


2/6  METHOD   OF    RECITATION 

"  The  divisions  were  to  scale  the  mountain  as  nearly 
as  possible  at  the  same  time.  The  fighting  directions 
were  in  frontier  style.  When  once  in  action,  every 
one  must  act  for  himself.  The  men  were  not  to  wait 
for  the  word  of  command,  but  to  take  good  aim  and 
fire  as  fast  as  possible.  When  they  could  no  longer 
hold  their  ground,  they  were  to  get  behind  trees,  or 
retreat  a  little,  and  return  to  the  fight,  but  never  to 
go  quite  off. 

"  Campbell  allowed  time  for  the  flanking  divisions 
to  move  to  the  right  and  left  along  the  base  of  the 
mountain,  and  take  their  proper  distances;  he  then 
pushed  up  in  front  with  the  centre  division.  About 
four  o'clock  Campbell  arrived  within  rifle  distance  of 
the  crest  of  the  mountain,  whence  a  sheeted  fire  of  mus- 
ketry was  opened  upon  him.  He  instantly  deployed 
his  men,  posted  them  behind  trees,  and  returned  the 
fire  with  deadly  effect.  Ferguson,  exasperated  at 
being  thus  hunted  into  this  mountain  fastness,  had 
been  chafing  in  his  rocky  lair  and  meditating  a  furi- 
ous sally.  He  now  rushed  out  with  his  regulars, 
made  an  impetuous  charge  with  the  bayonet,  and 
dislodging  his  assailants  from  their  coverts,  began  to 
drive  them  down  the  mountain.  He  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far,  when  a  flanking  fire  was  opened  by  one 
of  the  other  divisions ;  facing  about  and  attacking 
this  he  was  again  successful,  when  a  third  fire  was 
opened  from  another  quarter.  Thus,  as  fast  as  one 
division  gave  way  before  the  bayonet,  another  came 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS 

to  its  relief ;  while  those  who  had  given  way  rallied 
and  returned  to  the  charge.  (Do  you  think  Ferguson 
could  have  planned  his  part  of  the  battle  better  ?) 
The  nature  of  the  ground  was  more  favorable  to  the 
rifle  than  the  bayonet,  and  this  was  a  kind  of  warfare 
in  which  the  frontier  men  were  at  home.  The  ele- 
vated position  of  the  enemy  also  was  in  favor  of  the 
Americans,  as  it  secured  them  from  the  danger  of 
their  own  cross-fire.  Ferguson  found  that  he  was 
completely  in  the  hunters'  toils,  beset  on  every  side; 
but  he  stood  bravely  at  bay,  until  the  ground  around 
him  was  strewed  with  the  killed  and  wounded,  picked 
off  by  the  fatal  rifle.  His  men  were  at  length  broken, 
and  retreated  in  confusion  along  the  ridge.  He  gal- 
loped from  place  to  place  endeavoring  to  rally  them, 
when  a  rifle  ball  brought  him  to  the  ground,  and  his 
white  horse  was  seen  careering  down  the  mountain 
without  a  rider.  (Could  Ferguson  with  his  men  have 
broken  through  the  ranks  of  the  Americans  on  one 
side  and  have  escaped  ?) 

"  This  closed  the  bloody  fight ;  Ferguson's  second 

• 

in  command,  seeing  all  further  resistance  hopeless, 
hoisted  a  white  flag,  beat  a  parley,  and  surrendered 
at  discretion.  One  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  enemy 
had  fallen,  and  as  many  been  wounded ;  while  of  the 
Americans,  but  twenty  were  killed,  though  a  con- 
siderable number  were  wounded.  (Why,  do  you 
think,  had  the  British  suffered  more  in  killed  and 
wounded  than  the  Americans  ?)  Among  those  slain 


278  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

was  Colonel  James  Williams,  who  had  commanded 
the  troops  of  Ninety-six,  and  proved  himself  one  of 
the  most  daring  of  the  partisan  leaders. 

"  Eight  hundred  and  ten  men  were  taken  pris- 
oners, one  hundred  of  whom  were  British  regulars, 
the  rest  loyalists.  The  rancor  awakened  by  civil  war 
was  shown  in  the  treatment  of  some  of  the  prisoners. 
A  court-martial  was  held  the  day  after  the  battle,  and 
a  number  of  Tory  prisoners,  who  had  been  bitter  in 
their  hostility  to  the  American  cause,  and  flagitious  in 
their  persecution  of  their  countrymen,  were  hanged. 
This  was  to  revenge  the  death  of  American  prisoners 
hanged  at  Camden  and  elsewhere.  (Would  you 
expect  the  backwoodsmen  to  follow  up  this  victory 
by  marching  against  Cornwallis  ?) 

"  The  army  of  mountaineers  and  frontiersmen,  thus 
fortuitously  congregated,  did  not  attempt  to  follow 
up  their  signal  blow.  They  had  no  general  scheme, 
no  plan  of  campaign ;  it  was  the  spontaneous  rising 
of  the  sons  of  the  soil,  to  revenge  it  on  its  invaders, 
and,  having  effected  their  purpose,  they  returned  in 
triumph  to  their  homes.  They  were  little  aware  of 
the  importance  of  their  achievement. 

"The  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  inconsiderable 
as  it  was  in  the  numbers  engaged,  turned  the  tide  of 
southern  warfare.  The  destruction  of  Ferguson  and 
his  corps  gave  a  complete  check  to  the  expedition 
of  Cornwallis.  He  began  to  fear  for  the  safety  of 
South  Carolina,  liable  to  such  sudden  irruptions  from 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  2/9 

the  mountains ;  lest  while  he  was  facing  to  the  north 
these  hordes  of  stark-riding  warriors  might  throw 
themselves  behind  him,  and  produce  a  popular  com- 
bustion in  the  province  he  had  left.  He  resolved, 
therefore,  to  return  with  all  speed  to  that  province 
and  provide  for  its  security." 

Third  Step. — (The  class  is  supposed  to  have  had 
earlier  in  their  history  study  a  complete  account  of 
Burgoyne's  invasion,  including  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington. Recall  Burgoyne's  invasion  and  the  events 
which  led  up  to  the  battle  of  Bennington.) 

The  battle  of  King's  Mountain  at  the  South  sug- 
gests the  earlier  battle  of  Bennington  at  the  North. 
Under  what  circumstances  did  Burgoyne  send  Baum 
on  the  raid  against  Bennington  ?  How  did  Baum 
prepare  to  meet  the  attack  of  the  Americans  ?  Bur- 
goyne, after  scattering  St.  Glair's  army,  followed  up 
his  victory  with  sending  Baum  on  a  foraging  march 
toward  Bennington.  Compare  this  with  Cornwallis 
after  Cam  den. 

Colonel  John  Stark  and  his  Green  Mountain  boys 
assembled  voluntarily  at  Bennington  to  repel  invaders. 
Compare  these  with  the  backwoodsmen  of  Carolina 
and  Tennessee  who  assembled  under  the  six  colonels 
at  King's  Mountain.  The  Tories  and  Indians  at  the 
North  had  exasperated  the  country  people  by  cruel- 
ties. How  had  the  Tories  and  British  treated  the 
patriots  at  the  South  ?  Baum  took  a  strong  position 
on  a  hill  and  awaited  the  attack  of  the  Americans. 


28O  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

Ferguson  at  King's  Mountain  did  likewise.  Stark 
divided  his  army  into  three  divisions  and  attacked  on 
three  sides  at  once.  In  both  battles  the  militia  at- 
tacked the  British  in  a  strong  position  and  either 
killed  or  captured  the  whole  body.  The  British 
leader  was  also  killed  or  mortally  wounded  in  each 
battle. 

What  was  the  result  of  each  of  these  battles  in  its 
effects  upon  the  movements  of  the  principal  armies  ? 
There  were  also  certain  points  of  difference  worth 
noticing.  At  Bennington  two  battles  were  fought  on 
the  same  day.  At  Bennington  there  were  two  leaders 
of  the  Americans ;  at  King's  Mountain,  six,  but  they 
were  not  regularly  appointed  officers  in  either  case. 

Fourth  Step.  —  As  a  result  of  this  comparison  we 
find  a  remarkable  similarity  even  in  the  lesser  details 
of  these  two  battles,  so  far  distant  in  place  and  time. 
Although  they  were  small  battles  and  insignificant  in 
the  number  of  troops  engaged,  yet  they  were  very 
important  in  their  influence  upon  two  important  cam- 
paigns. And  what  is  also  of  much  importance,  they 
throw  much  light  upon  the  spirit  which  the  common 
people  exhibited  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

At  a  time  of  great  discouragement  the  people 
themselves,  Bunder  their  own  neighborhood  leaders, 
collect  in  large  numbers,  with  such  arms  and  equip- 
ments as  they  bring  from  their  own  homes,  and  attack 
and  capture  veteran  troops  in  strong  positions.  In 
this  respect  exactly  the  same  spirit  and  energy  of 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  28 1 

character  are  shown  by  the  backwoodsmen  of  Ten- 
nessee, Carolina,  and  Virginia  as  by  the  Green 
Mountain  recruits  and  Yankee  militia. 

The  common  people,  therefore,  out  of  their  own 
love  of  liberty,  and  on  account  of  their  great  courage 
and  energy,  contributed  much  to  the  success  of  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

Fifth  Step^  —  Other  battles  of  the  Revolution  may 
be  called  up  and  measured  upon  this  standard  of 
energy  and  patriotism  as  shown  by  the  rank  and  file 
of  troops.  Take,  for  example,  Bunker  Hill,  Stony 
Point,  The  Cowpens,  Saratoga,  and  others.  It  is 
sometimes  said  that  a  few  men,  especially  Washing- 
ton, bore  the  burden  of  the  war.  How  far  were  the 
spirit  and  energy  of  the  common  people  responsible 
for  the  final  success  ?  Later  in  our  history,  both  in 
time  of  war  and  in  the  enterprises  of  peace,  the 
striking  characteristics  of  the  common  people  should 
be  studied  and  their  influence  upon  important  events 
and  movements  observed  and  compared  with  earlier 
manifestations  of  the  popular  will. 

This  idea  can  be  carried  over  also  into  the  arena 
of  political  and  social  reform. 

1  The  early  colonial  history  abounds  in  illustrations  of  this  popular 
energy  as  shown  in  Indian  wars  and  in  resistance  to  the  tyranny  of 
royal  governors. 


282  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

Parable  of  the  Tares 

Matthew  xiii.  24-31 

Several  generalizations  are  suggested  and  a  few 
are  plainly  taught  by  this  parable.  The  tares  were 
sown  in  the  night,  when  people  were  asleep ;  so 
wicked  thoughts  are  sown  when  people  are  spirit- 
ually asleep.  The  tares  have  an  injurious  influence 
upon  the  good  grain ;  so  bad  thoughts  and  actions 
exert  an  injurious  influence  upon  good  thoughts  and 
actions.  When  harvest  time  comes,  the  different 
growths  shall  be  judged  by  the  fruits  that  they  bear, 
and  hence,  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 
The  householder  seems  patient  in  allowing  the  weeds 
to  stand;  so  God  seems  patient  with  the  wicked 
people.  The  notes  ordinarily  furnished  in  connec- 
tion with  this  parable  state  that  the  tares  are  a  poi- 
sonous weed;  so  bad  thoughts  and  actions  act  like 
poison  in  our  lives. 

These  are  all  truths,  however,  that,  while  sug- 
gested by  the  parable,  do  not  express  the  essence  of 
its  thought.  They  are  really  subordinate  thoughts, 
and  should  better  be  neglected  than  receive  much 
attention.  The  plainest  truth  involved  is  that  a  sure 
reward  awaits  the  good  and  a  sure  punishment  the 
evil.  And  that  is  the  thought  that  Christ  himself 
presents  when  he  is  called  upon  by  the  apostles  to 
interpret  the  parable.  However,  many  a  teacher 
will  feel  convinced  that  there  is  another  truth  fully 


ILLUSTRATIVE  LESSONS  283 

involved  in  the  story,  by  means  of  which  more  in- 
fluence can  be  exerted  upon  the  child  than  by  this 
one  just  named.  That  is  presented  through  the  fact 
that  the  householder  commands  his  servants  to  let 
the  tares  stand  with  the  wheat,  because  the  ser- 
vants cannot  remove  the  one  without  injuring  the 
other.  This,  interpreted,  means  that  in  this  world, 
though  we  would  often  like  to  banish  evil  from 
among  us,  we  do  not  know  enough  to  separate  it 
from  the  good,  and  if  we  attempted  to  do  so  we 
should  make  an  abundance  of  mistakes.  Hence,  we 
should  let  both  grow  together  until  the  harvest,  or 
until  the  end  of  the  world ;  and  we  should  not  at- 
tempt to  judge  and  condemn  people,  thinking  that 
we  see  clearly  what  is  good  in  them  and  what  is 
bad.  The  generalization,  tersely  stated,  would  be, 
"  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged."  This  is  the  one 
chosen  to  be  presented  here  according  to  the  five 
Formal  Steps.  The  children  are  thought  of  as  be- 
ing at  least  ten  years  of  age,  and  perhaps  somewhat 
older.  The  majority  of  the  questions  following,  al- 
though not  all,  could  be  given  to  ten-year-old  chil- 
dren. 

Aim.  —  Let  us  see  what  Christ  meant  by  his  story 
about  removing  weeds  from  the  wheat. 

i.  Have  you  found  weeds  in  a  garden  of  your  own  ? 
How  were  they  gotten  rid  of  ?  Why  is  that  so  nec- 
essary ?  Is  there  any  danger  to  the  other  plants  in 
so  doing  ?  Have  you  seen  weeds  growing  in  grain  in 


284  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

the  country  ?  Where  ?  In  what  grains  ?  Is  it  more 
or  less  dangerous  to  remove  weeds  from  wheat  than 
from  your  flowers  or  vegetables  in  the  garden  ?  Why  ? 
What,  then,  does  the  farmer  do  with  them  ? 

2  a.  Now  let  us  listen  to  the  story  that  Christ  told 
about  removing  weeds  from  the  wheat.  That  was 
in  Palestine,  and  the  particular  weeds  he  mentioned 
are  called  tares.  They  are  said  to  look  very  much 
like  wheat.  (Read  Matthew  xiii.  24-31.)  (If  time 
allows,  at  least  a  portion  of  this  parable  could  be 
developed  instead  of  read.)  The  children,  after 
hearing  or  reading  the  parable,  relate  the  same  prob- 
ably two  or  three  times,  in  order  to  see  clearly  the 
concrete  situation.  Proceeding,  we  say,  Why,  then, 
were  the  servants  not  allowed  to  pull  up  the  tares  ? 
The  chief  answer  is  that  in  so  doing  they  would  root 
up  the  wheat,  because  the  tares  stand  so  close  to 
the  wheat  that  one  could  not  be  pulled  up  without 
injury  to  the  other. 

2  b.  Christ's  disciples  hardly  knew  what  he  meant 
by  this  story,  and  they  asked  him  about  it.  Do  you 
think  you  can  possibly  tell  what  is  meant  ?  Let  us 
see.  .  He  says  that  a  man  having  a  field  of  grain  may 
be  compared  with  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  If  so, 
whom  might  the  sower  represent?  Answer  —  Christ. 
And  what  would  the  field  be?  Answer  —  the  world. 
Who  would  be  meant  by  the  good  seed  ?  Who  by 
the  tares  ?  When  will  the  harvest  be  ?  Who  are  the 
reapers  ? 


ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSONS  285 

3.  Are  there  many  tares  or  wicked  people  in  the 
world?  Give  examples,  as  thieves,  murderers,  etc. 
Those  servants  thought  it  would  be  wise  to  separate 
the  tares  from  the  wheat  and  gather  them  up ;  have 
you  ever  had  the  same  feeling  about  the  bad  people 
in  the  world  ?  Have  you  wanted  to  do  away  with 
the  evil  and  leave  only  the  good  ?  Well,  now,  sup- 
pose you  were  allowed  to  separate  the  good  from 
the  bad ;  if  this  permission  were  given  you,  how 
would  you  go  at  it?  (i)  On  which  side,  the  good  or 
the  bad,  would  you  place  Jacob  ?  You  remember  he 
deceived  his  aged  father.  (2)  What  would  you  do 
with  Moses  ?  Remember  that  he  killed  a  man.  How 
did  God  regard  him  ?  (3)  On  which  side  would  you 
place  Mary  Magdalene?  What  did  Christ  think  of 
her  ?  (4)  Where  would  you  place  the  Prodigal  Son  ? 
(5)  Would  you  regard  Judas  as  belonging  among  the 
wheat  or  the  tares  ?  You  remember  he  was  one  of 
the  disciples,  and  was  trusted  by  them,  although  he 
betrayed  Christ  later.  (6)  What  would  you  do  with 
the  brother  of  the  Prodigal  Son  ?  He  stayed  at  home 
and  worked.  (7)  What  would  you  do  with  your 
friends  and  acquaintances  ?  Why  are  you  confused 
in  these  cases?  Once  more,  Why  would  not  the 
householder  allow  his  servants  to  pull  up  the  tares  ? 
Answer,  They  were  too  near  the  wheat  stalks  and 
too  much  like  them  to  be  separated  from  them.  Does 
that  help  you  any  here?  How?  Answer,  (i)  The 
evil  is  so  near  the  good  that  they  are  both  found  in 


286  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

one  person ;  (2)  The  good  and  bad  often  appear  so 
much  alike  that  often  we  are  not  able  to  tell  them 
apart.  What  conclusion,  then,  do  you  reach  about 
our  trying  to  separate  the  good  from  the  bad  ?  But 
what  if  we  went  ahead  and  decided  to  attempt  it 
nevertheless?  Wrong!!  Who,  then,  will  attend 
finally  to  this  separation  ?  Why  are  angels  chosen 
for  it  rather  than  men  ? 

4.  (i)  Which  verse  in  the  parable  most  clearly  calls 
for   delay   in   separating   the   bad   from   the   good  ? 
Look  them  through  to   see.     Verse  30.     "  Let  both 
grow   together   until   the   harvest."     Are    you   con- 
vinced that  this  applies  as  much  to   good  and  bad 
people  as  to  wheat  and  tares  ? 

(2)  Do  you  call  to  mind  another  verse  that 
brings  to  mind  a  similar  thought  ?  You  have  heard 
it  often.  It  begins  with  the  word  judge.  Mat- 
thew vii.  i.  Judge  not.  Let  us  learn  these  two 
verses,  then,  and  hereafter  when  the  parable  of 
the  tares  is  called  for,  you  may  state  its  chief 
thought  for  us  by  these  two  verses. 

5.  (i)  At   the   close    of    this    talk,    Christ    said, 
"Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear."     Why  do 
you  think  he  said  that?     What  did  he  want  them 
to  hear? 

(2)  Is  it  true  that  people  have  failed  in  times  past 
to  listen  to  this  teaching  ?  What  examples  from  history 
show  this  ?  St.  Bartholomew's  massacre,  witchcraft, 
the  Jews'  treatment  of  Christ,  etc. 


ILLUSTRATIVE    LESSONS  28/ 

(3)  Have  you  ever  been  misjudged  yourself  ?     How 
did  you  feel  about  it  ? 

(4)  Have  you  ever  misjudged   others  ?     How   did 
you  feel  about  it  then,  when  you  discovered  that  you 
had  been  wrong  ? 

(5)  Have  you  ever  really  attempted  to  stop  judg- 
ing others  so  freely  ?     ("  Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let 
him  hear.") 

(6)  What  comforting  thought  do  you  find  in  this 
lesson  ?     Answer,  That  we  should  not  be  too  much 
discouraged  at  seeing  wickedness  allowed  to  continue. 
We  are  taught  not  to  be  too  impatient  over  the  mat- 
ter. 


CHAPTER  XII 

LAWS  UNDERLYING  PROCESSES  IN  TEACHING 

IF  the  leading  thoughts  thus  far  presented  are  true, 
there  are  certain  steps  in  instruction  that  are  universal. 
No  matter  what  the  study  be,  whether  Latin,  mathe- 
matics, science,  or  some  other,  there  is  a  certain  order 
that  the  mind  must  follow  in  acquiring  knowledge. 
Through  the  old  related  experiences  (first  step, 
preparation)  new  individual  notions  are  reached  (sec- 
ond step,  presentation) ;  these  are  compared  and  their 
essential  characteristics  abstracted  (third  step,  com- 
parison), and  the  resulting  general  truth  is  worded 
(fourth  step,  generalization) ;  this  generalization 
finally  receives  application  (fifth  step,  application). 
Since  these  steps  are  passed  through  in  this  order 
without  reference  to  the  nature  of  the  subject-matter 
presented,  they  are  rightly  called  the  Formal  Steps 
of  Instruction.  They  indicate  the  order  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  mind,  or  of  the  forms  through  which 
thought  must  pass  in  reaching  full  maturity. 

Now,  law  is  reached  the  moment  that  a  certain 
order  is  shown  to  be  uniform  ;  for  a  law  is  nothing 
more  than  a  statement  of  a  uniform  sequence,  and  a 

288 


LAWS    OF    TEACHING  289 

law  of  teaching,  the  statement  of  a  uniform  sequence 
in  the  process  of  learning.  Hence,  it  is  clear  that  these 
natural  or  Formal  Steps  of  Instruction  simply  embody 
the  laws  of  teaching. 

I.  The  most  prominent  one,  often  known  as  the 
law  of  induction  and  discussed  particularly  in  Chap- 
ter V,  may  be  stated  thus  :  The  order  of  steps  in  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  is  :  («)  individual  notions ; 
(<5)  general  notions.  Eminent  authorities  on  teaching 
now  generally  agree  upon  this  law,  and  it  is  stated 
by  Huxley  in  these  words : J  — 

"The  subject-matter  of  biological  science  is  differ- 
ent from  that  of  other  sciences,  but  the  methods  of 
all  are  identical. 

"  And  these  methods  are  :  — 

"  i.  Observation  of  facts — including  under  this  head 
that  artificial  observation  which  is  called  experiment. 

"  2.  That  process  of  tying  up  similar  facts  into 
bundles  ticketed  and  ready  for  use,  which  is  called 
comparison  and  classification,  the  results  of  the  pro- 
cess, the  ticketed  bundles,  being  named  general  propo- 
sitions. 

"  3.  Deduction,  which  takes  us  from  the  general 
proposition  to  facts  gained  —  teaches  us,  if  I  may  so 
say,  to  anticipate  from  the  ticket  what  is  inside  the 
bundle.  And  finally,  — 

"  4.  Verification,  which  is  the  process  of  ascertaining 
whether  in  point  of  fact  our  anticipation  is  a  correct 

one. 

1  Lay  Sermons,  p.  83. 


290  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

"  Such  are  the  methods  of  all  science  whatsoever." 

Considering  3  and  4  as  belonging  to  step  5,  the 
essential  aggreement  of  the  preceding  statements 
with  this  quotation  is  evident.  It  is  well  to  ask  what 
other  method  there  is  that  could  better  be  followed 
than  this. 

II.  Another  law  discussed  especially  in  the  first 
part  of  Chapter  VI  is  commonly  known  as  the  law 
of  apperception,  and  may  be  stated  in  these  words  : 
New  thoughts  can  be  comprehended  only  by  the  help 
of  old  thoughts ;  also,  new  emotions  (and  volitions) 
are  dependent  both  in  quality  and  in  strength  upon 
old  emotions  (and  volitions).  The  same  general 
thought  is  expressed  by  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris  as  fol- 
lows :  \  — 

"  Inasmuch  as  instruction  is  the  leading  of  the 
ignorant  into  knowledge  by  translating  the  unknown 
into  the  known,  there  are  two  factors  involved  :  (#)the 
unknown  subject ;  (£)  the  stock  of  knowledge  already 
possessed  by  the  pupil.  The  knowledge  already 
possessed  is  the  means  by  which  the  unknown  can 
be  grasped  and  retained.  All  learning  is  a  trans- 
lating of  an  unknown  into  a  known,  just  as  the 
learning  of  a  foreign  language  proceeds  by  trans- 
lating the  unfamiliar  words  into  familiar  words,  and 
thereby  changing  the  strange  into  the  familiar.  This 
being  so,  unless  co'nstant  reference  is  had  by  the 
teacher  to  the  stock  of  familiar  ideas  belonging  to 

1  Rosenkranz,  "  Philosophy  of  Education,"  p.  99. 


LAWS    OF    TEACHING  291 

the  pupil,  there  is  imminent  danger  to  instruction. 
It  may  pass  off  into  the  process  of  exchanging,  un- 
known words  for  unknown  words  —  a  movement 
entirely  within  the  realm  of  the  unfamiliar.  Such 
a  process  is  not  instruction,  whatever  else  it  may  be." 

III.  The  law  of  aim,  discussed  in  Chapter  VI,  is 
one  practically  agreed  upon  in  daily  life,  but  until 
recently  it  has  not  been  dignified  by  teachers  as  a 
law  affecting  their  instruction.  Nevertheless,  they 
are  coming  rapidly  to  agree  that  a  definite  and  at- 
tractive aim  is  a  condition  of  the  most  effective 
work  of  any  kind,  and  hence  that  a  clear  aim  should 
be  daily  fixed  in  each  recitation  as  elsewhere.  Upon 
this  point  Dr.  Wilhelm  Rein  says  : 1 — 

"The  pupil  should  know  beforehand  what  is  com- 
ing if  he  is  to  bring  all  his  powers  to  bear  upon  the 
work  of  learning ;  and  it  is  easier  to  call  out  all  his 
effort  if  he  knows  beforehand  what  is  to  be  gained. 
To  conduct  a  child  along  an  unknown  road,  toward 
an  unknown  object  by  means  of  questions  and  hints, 
the  purpose  of  which  he  does  not  see,  to  lead  him  on 
imperceptibly  to  an  unknown  goal,  has  the  disadvan- 
tage that  it  develops  neither  a  spontaneous  mental 
activity  nor  a  clear  insight  into  the  subject.  Having 
reached  the  end  of  such  a  line  of  thought,  the  pupil 
looks  about  himself  bewildered.  He  cannot  survey  the 
road  which  he  has  just  gone  over,  he  does  not  com- 

1  "  Theorie  und  Praxis  des  Volksschulunterrichts.  Das  erste  Schul- 
jahr,"  p.  103. 


292  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

prehend  what  has  happened  to  him.  He  stands  at 
the  goal  but  does  not  see  the  relation  that  the  result 
bears  to  the  labor  performed.  He  does  not  rise  to 
that  satisfactory  mental  activity  and  favorable  disposi- 
tion of  mind  which  are  stimulated  by  the  pursuit  of 
a  clearly  set  purpose." 

IV.  The  law  of  self-activity  has  been  insisted  upon 
by  all  great  educators  in  modern  times,  particularly, 
however,  by  Froebel.  It  may  be  briefly  stated  thus : 
proper  development  is  possible  only  through  a  high 
degree  of  self-activity.  The  law  was  discussed  espe- 
cially in  reference  to  the  development  method  of  teach- 
ing in  the  latter  part  of  Chapter  VI.  Herbert 
Spencer's  opinion  is  shown  in  the  following  quota- 
tion 1  — 

"  In  education  the  process  of  self-development 
should  be  encouraged  to  the  fullest  extent.  Children 
should  be  led  to  make  their  own  investigations  and  to 
draw  their  own  inferences.  They  should  be  told  as 
little  as  possible,  and  induced  to  discover  as  much  as 
possible.  Humanity  has  progressed  solely  by  self- 
instruction,  and  that  to  achieve  the  best  results  each 
mind  must  progress  somewhat  after  the  same  fashion, 
is  continually  proved  by  the  marked  success  of  self- 
made  men." 

As  indicated  in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  the 
text-book  method,  there  is  abundant  room  for  improve- 
ment in  the  application  of  this  law. 

1  Herbert  Spencer,  Chapter  II,  in  "  Education."* 


LAWS    OF   TEACHING  293 

V.  The  law  of  absorption  and  reflection  was  briefly 
discussed  in  the  latter  part  of  Chapter  VI.     Accord- 
ing to  it,  absorption  in  details  and  reflection  in  regard 
to    them,   regularly  alternate   in    effective  thinking. 
Herbart's  own  words  are  as  follows : J  — 

"  Absorption  and  reflection,  like  a  mental  breathing, 
should  continually  alternate  with  each  other.  Absorp- 
tion takes  place  when  ideas  are  brought  to  conscious- 
ness one  after  another  with  proper  clearness  and 
accuracy;  reflection  takes  place  when  they  are  col- 
lected and  combined.  The  more  fully  and  carefully 
these  operations  are  provided  for,  the  more  effective 
proves  the  instruction." 

Any  good  instructor  unconsciously  applies  this 
law  when  he  stops  to  summarize  and  take  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  ground  covered,  ranking  the  facts  according 
to  their  relative  worth. 

VI.  In   Chapter  VI   the  importance  of  physical 
action,  or  motor  activity,  was  urged,  and  it  was  prac- 
tically  declared  to  be   a   law  that  ideas  must  find 
expression,  must  be  realized  in  action,  before  they  can 
be  conceived  with  the  greatest  clearness  and  accuracy. 
The  kindergarten,  especially,  has   always   stood  for 
this  thought ;  in  its  plan  of  study  more  time  each  day 
is  devoted  to  carrying  out  ideas  into  action  than  to 
the  presentation  of  the  ideas  themselves  —  a  practice 
that  has  been  by  no  means  characteristic  of  instruction 
above  the  kindergarten.     But  in  recent  years  several 

1  Herbart,  "  Paedagogische  Schriften,"  t,  p.  417. 


294  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

distinguished  psychologists  and  educators  have  de- 
clared themselves  in  favor  of  accepting  this  statement 
as  a  law,  and  its  marked  influence  on  education  in  the 
near  future  seems  certain. 

VII-VIII.  Other  possible  laws  have  been  occasion- 
ally referred  to  in  the  preceding  pages,  but  they  are 
not  here  enumerated,  either  because  of  some  doubt 
as  to  their  universality,  or  because  they  are  commonly 
thought  of  as  affecting  rather  the  selection  and  arrange- 
ment of  subject-matter  in  studies  than  its  method  of 
presentation  in  the  class  room.  Two  of  these  are 
known  as  the  laws  of  interest  and  of  correlation.  Ac- 
cording to  the  former  a  deep  interest  must  be  aroused 
in  thoughts  before  they  can  exert  the  strongest  in- 
fluence upon  mental  life  and  character ;  according  to 
the  latter,  the  ultimate  value  of  facts  depends  as  well 
upon  the  number  and  closeness  of  relations  into  which 
they  enter  as  upon  the  clearness  and  accuracy  with 
which  they  are  conceived. 

The  law  of  interest  expresses  one  great  condition 
of  effective  instruction ;  it  makes  a  demand  that  the 
teaching  accomplish  a  certain  end,  but  does  not  itself 
give  any  hint  as  to  how  this  end  can  be  attained.  It 
affects  first  of  all  the  selection  of  subject-matter,  but 
furnishes  a  daily  test  of  method  as  well,  by  requiring 
that  there  be  a  healthy  stimulation  of  the  emotions  as 
well  as  of  the  intellect  in  all  instruction.  The  law  of 
correlation  was  involved  in  the  insistence  (in  Chapter 
VI)  upon  a  close  sequence  in  the  facts  of  a  lesson,  in 


LAWS   OF   TEACHING  2Q5 

the  demand  that  they  be  arranged  in  a  series  or  net- 
work, and  that  even  the  teacher's  questions  reveal  a 
close  connection. 

Both  of  these  laws,  therefore,  have  a  direct  influence 
upon  method,  although  not  limited  to  that  field. 

Undoubtedly  there  are  other  laws  of  teaching  be- 
sides the  eight  that  are  here  mentioned,  but  these  are 
at  least  some  of  the  broadest  and  most  important. 
The  law  of  apperception  alone  includes  and  interprets 
most  of  the  so-called  principles  of  teaching  that  have 
often  been  mentioned  in  times  past;  for  example, 
from  the  near  to  the  remote ;  from  the  simple  to  the 
complex ;  from  the  easy  to  the  difficult ;  from  the 
whole  to  the  parts.  These  sayings  are  sometimes 
true,  sometimes  not.  The  law  of  apperception  is 
deeper  than  they  and  shows  where  they  are  appli- 
cable. 

These  eight  laws  should  be  guides  to  the  teacher  in 
the  fullest  sense.  It  would  scarcely  be  possible  to 
conduct  a  single  thirty-minute  recitation  without  ap- 
plying all  of  them  several  times,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  law  of  induction. 

Thus  we  see  a  most  intimate  connection  between 
theory  and  practice  when  skilful  instruction  is  im- 
parted. The  fact  that  these  are  general  laws  and  not 
specific  devices  prevents  them  from  cramping  the 
teacher's  freedom  and  individuality,  for  a  general  law 
is  always  capable  of  infinite  variety  in  application. 

To  the  extent  that  laws  of  instruction  are  developed 


296  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

and  brought  into  a  system,  there  is  a  science  of 
method ;  consequently  these  eight  laws  being  as 
deep  and  broad  as  they  are,  and  being  intimately  re- 
lated to  one  another,  furnish  a  fair  basis  for  the  asser- 
tion that  there  is  a  scientific  method  of  teaching. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS 

THE  relation  of  the  Formal  Steps  to  text-books  is 
important,  for  our  text-books  are  a  fair  index  of  our 
methods  of  class-room  work,  and  the  standard  set  up 
and  generally  recognized  as  attainable  is  that  of  the 
better  class  of  such  books.  So  indispensable  are 
they  in  our  prevailing  methods  of  instruction  that  any 
plan  which  ignores  them  will  be  regarded  as  vision- 
ary. It  is,  therefore,  quite  important  to  see  clearly 
the  relation  of  the  formal  steps  to  the  use  of  text- 
books. 

First  let  us  see  the  chief  <•  utility  of  these  books,  value  of  text- 
They  indicate  what  knowledge  is  regarded  of  most  books' 
value  to  children,  in  what  order  and  connection  it 
should  be  studied,  and  in  a  broad,  yet  definite  way 
the  method  by  which  it  shall  be  acquired.  The  value 
of  text-books  lies  in  their  helpfulness  to  teachers  and 
pupils  Containing,  as  they  often  do,  the  results  of 
ripest  experience  in  able  teachers,  they  embody  such 
a  selection  and  arrangement  of  leading  topics,  such  a 
correct  statement  of  truths  as  every  teacher  needs. 
They  give  to  both  instructor  and  pupil  that  syste- 
matic body  of  thought  which  forms  the  framework  of 

297 


298  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

each  study.  As  the  text-books,  like  arithmetic,  are 
worked  out  by  different  teachers,  gradually  a  con- 
sensus of  opinion  settles  upon  a  definite  body  of 
knowledge,  which  becomes  the  recognized  standard 
in  that  subject. 

The  advantage  of  such  well-established,  authorita- 
tive text-books  is  seen,  by  contrast,  in  the  absence  of 
such  standards.  When  the  teacher  has  no  such  text- 
book, and  no  well-arranged  body  of  knowledge  of 
his  own  to  take  the  place  of  it,  he  has  no  coherent 
method  of  procedure,  and  the  work  is  a  failure. 

Moreover,  text-books  are  regarded  not  only  as  an 
indispensable  help  and  guide  for  teachers,  but  also 
as  the  chief  instrument  by  which  pupils  can  be 
brought  to  their  tasks,  to  the  mastery  of  their  own 
difficulties.  For  seat-work  and  for  home-study  the 
text-books  are  indispensable.  In  the  life  of  most 
pupils  the  text-books  play  an  important  role.  In  the 
schools  as  they  are,  it  is  largely  the  business  of 
teachers  to  assign  lessons  and  to  hear  them  recited, 
and  of  pupils  to  learn  lessons  and  reproduce  them. 
So  universal  is  this  dependence  upon  text-books  that 
most  of  our  teachers  would  be  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
to  do  without  them.  A  very  important  fact  to  be 
remembered  is  that  most  of  our  teachers  have  had 
no  special  preparation  for  teaching. 

The  text-books  are  essentially  deductive  and  dog- 
matic in  presenting  truth ;  the  five  formal  steps  are 
expressly  inductive.  The  distinction  between  these 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  2Q9 

two  methods  is  not  absolute,  but  relative,  for  text- 
books commonly  have  a  sprinkling  of  inductive  pro- 
cesses, while  the  formal  steps  at  one  point  (the  fifth 
step)  lay  great  stress  upon  deductive  thinking. 

Moreover,  the  inductive  method  of  acquiring  knowl- 
edge is  one  that  cannot  be  reduced  easily  to  text- 
book form.  We  have,  indeed,  text-books  in  Latin, 
history,  and  language,  which  assume  to  follow  an 
inductive  process,  yet  it  is  a  method  which,  while  it 
can  be  illustrated,  cannot  be  fully  carried  out  in  a 
text-book.  Such  a  method  worked  out  in  full  would 
make  our  text-books  as  big  as  dictionaries,  and  so  the 
teacher,  in  most  topics,  must  be  left  largely  to  his 
own  resources  in  working  it  out.  The  Socratic  Dia- 
logues of  Plato,  with  their  elaborate  inductions,  are 
examples  of  the  detail  with  which  a  single  truth  is 
worked  out.  But  the  inductive  method  requires 
relatively  few  such  elaborately  treated  subjects.  It 
assumes  that  the  teacher  has  originality  and  thinking 
power,  and  is  not  simply  an  instructor  by  rote  or  by 
imitation. 

It  is,  therefore,  in  the  first,  second,  and  third  steps 
that  the  inductive  treatment  of  topics  is  clearly 
distinguished  from  the  usual  dogmatic  form  of  our 
text-books.  In  detail  'these  characteristics  of  the  in- 
ductive method  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows  :  — 

i.  It  sifts  out,  brings  together,  and  focusses  upon 
the  new  topic  those  familiar  experiences  of  the  chil- 
dren which  have  significant  relations  to  that  topic. 


3OO  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

2.  It  lays  greater  stress  upon  the  clear  and  even 
graphic  presentation  of  the   concrete  facts.     It  not 
only  enlarges  the  descriptive  detail  upon  any  given 
object,  but  it  multiplies  examples  of  the  same  truth 
before  leaping  forward  to  general  conclusions.     The 
teacher  needs  a  much  larger  accumulation   of  con- 
crete data  than  the  book  supplies,  and  a  definite  skill 
in  handling  it. 

3.  The  pupils  are  called  upon  to  do  more  think- 
ing, to  trace  out  and  explain  causal  relations,  to  raise 
questions  themselves  and  interpret  facts  by  their  rela- 
tions, as  this  larger  material  accumulates. 

4.  Definite  comparisons  are  set  up  and  the  points 
of  resemblance  and  difference,  upon  which  laws  and 
classifications  are  based,  are  clearly  made  out.     The 
outcome  of  such  comparisons  is  an  index  finger  point- 
ing toward   a   general   truth.     The    text-books    are 
chiefly  blank  on  these  pages.     They,  with  overween- 
ing kindness,  sum  up  the  whole  matter  (often  before 
there  is  much  to  be  summed  up  in  the  minds  of  the 
children)  and  give  the  final  result,  but  do  not  point 
out  the  long  route  travelled  over  to  attain  the  result. 

5.  The  stimulus  which  keeps  the  children  alert  in 
this  self-active  thought  movement  is  the  aim  set  up, 
the  question,  whose  answer  is  eagerly  sought  by  the 
children.      Every   lesson    should   work    toward   the 
solution  of  some  definite  problem,  and  the  concrete 
data  are  collected  and  examined  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  this  solution. 


APPLICATIONS   AND   CRITICISMS  3<DI 

The  entire  inductive  process,  with  its  pursuit  of 
clear  aims  and  movement  toward  general  truths,  sug- 
gests the  notion  of  large  lesson  units,  which  are 
important  enough  to  deserve  a  liberal  treatment 
through  all  the  essential  steps  of  instruction.  Here 
we  are  compelled  to  register  a  second  strong  contrast 
of  the  formal  steps,  as  a  method  of  instruction,  to  the 
method  of  the  usual  text-books. 

The  subject-matter  of  each  study,  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  formal  steps,  should  consist  of  large 
lesson  tm{ts  or  groupings  of  facts,  in  each  of  which 
groups  some  single  idea  dominates.  This  idea  or 
central  truth  (embodied  at  first  in  some  particular  or 
concrete  form)  is  to  be  worked  out  in  a  lesson  unity 
to  completeness  and  seen  in  sufficient  variety  of  cases 
to  warrant  a  general  statement.  In  the  discussion  of 
types,  we  found  striking  illustrations  of  the  collection 
of  facts  and  of  the  centring  of  thought  around  a  few 
of  these  important  truths.  In  the  text-books  the 
general  truths  involved  in  these  lesson  unities  are  pres- 
ent, but  their  superior  worth  and  rank  are  obscured 
in  several  ways.  Side  by  side  with  them  stand  a 
multitude  of  other  facts  or  truths  of  far  less  real 
value,  but  apparently  of  equal  rank.  These  im- 
portant truths  of  the  subject  stand  disguised  as 
common  soldiers  when  they  ought  to  be  uniformed 
as  officers  and  moving  at  the  head  of  whole  bat- 
talions. In  other  words,  the  text-books  distribute 
their  force  nearly  equally  over  a  very  large  area  of 


3O2  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

facts  and  truths  without  much  regard  to  perspective 
or  relative  value  of  the  facts  presented,  not  centring 
sufficiently  upon  the  more  important  ideas. 

The  formal  steps  call  for  the  exhaustive  inductive 
treatment  of  a  few  important  truths  in  any  study. 
This  inductive  process  of  the  five  steps  is  far  too 
elaborate  a  piece  of  method  machinery  with  which  to 
attack  the  multitude  of  truths,  little  and  big,  with 
which  our  text-books  are  crowded.  If  our  wheat- 
fields  were  fenced  off  into  a  multitude  of  quarter-acre 
lots,  it  would  hardly  pay  to  apply  the  elaborate 
machinery  of  a  reaper  and  self-binder  to  each  one. 
The  fields  should  be  large  enough  to  make  the  use  of 
that  kind  of  machinery  most  efficient ;  and  so  in  the 
studies. 

Having  observed  these  points  of  contrast  the  prac- 
tical question  is  this :  Can  text-book  'methods  of  in- 
struction be  improved  by  modifying  them  in  conformity 
to  the  principles  of  the  formal  steps?  The  answer  is 
that  they  can  be  so  improved.  In  reviewing  the 
situation  as  stated  above,  we  find  that  the  primary 
difficulty,  for  which  no  single  teacher  is  responsible, 
is  the  fact  that  the  subject-matter  is  not  arranged  into 
suitable  lesson  unities.  The  number  of  topics  is  too 
great  to  admit  of  proper  treatment.  But  for  the 
thoughtful  teacher  there  is  a  remedy  for  these  faults 
which  still  admits  of  a  liberal  use  of  the  text-books. 
The  teacher  needs  to  survey  the  text-book  material 
judiciously,  cull  out  the  more  important  truths  that 


APPLICATIONS   AND    CRITICISMS  303 

deserve  full  treatment,  and  bring  the  secondary  and 
minor  facts  into  relation  to  these  central  points.  If 
necessary,  omit  some  of  the  less  important  topics  and 
thus  gain  time  to  collect,  from  other  sources,  the  con- 
crete examples  needed  for  developing  the  leading 
general  truths.  One  of  the  most  important  conclu- 
sions from  our  entire  discussion  is  that  any  topic  to  be 
worked  over  by  the  formal  steps  must  be  important  and 
typical  enough  to  receive  a  full  treatment  leading  up 
to  the  unfolding  and  application  of  a  general  truth. 

In  any  case  a  clear  grasp  of  the  simple  principles 
of  the  formal  steps  cannot  fail  to  show  the  teacher 
how  to  put  new  life  into  text-book  material.  Any 
teacher  who  constantly  draws  from  the  children's 
home  experience,  from  his  own  reading  and  larger 
observation,  who  sets  up  clear  aims  in  the  class  room, 
and  encourages  children  to  the  thoughtful  working 
out  of  their  own  problems,  is  working  both  induc- 
tively and  deductively. 

It  is  evident  from  the  entire  discussion  that  any 
sudden  revolution  of  our  methods  of  teaching  by  in- 
troducing systematically  the  principles  of  the  induc- 
tive-deductive process  is  not  looked  for.  It  is  a  labor 
of  educating  teachers  out  of  traditional  into  rational 
methods.  Wherever  teachers  in  training  classes, 
in  normal  schools  and  in  teachers'  colleges,  in  insti- 
tutes, and  in  any  meetings  for  careful  discussion,  are 
searching  for  the  simple  elements  of  method,  the 
inductive  process  of  developing  general  truths  and 


304  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

applying  them  will  give  them  a  clear  insight  into  the 
fundamental  law  of  good  instruction. 

From  the  pupil's  standpoint  this  sets  up  every- 
where the  problem  of  self-realization.  What  he 
needs  is  a  chance  to  think  and  apply  the  truths 
which  make  up  the  usual  text-book,  an  opportunity 
to  develop  and  organize  them  into  a  body  of  related 
knowledge.  This  is,  in  fact,  exactly  what  is  accom- 
plished in  classes  where  a  skilful  teacher  works  in- 
ductively. The  summaries  and  conclusions  arrived 
at  in  class  instruction,  all  systematically  entered  in 
the  student's  note-book,  become  a  skeleton  outline 
of  the  subject  similar  to  that  of  a  text-book. 

Text-books  are  always  in  place  when  used  to  re- 
view and  summarize  ideas  that  have  been  well  de- 
veloped in  instruction. 

The  text-book  is  also  indispensable  as  an  outline 
of  the  subject  taught.  The  children  need  such  an 
outline,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  guiding  them 
into  definite  and  systematic  courses,  but  also  to  help 
out  the  irregularities  of  school  work.  Pupils  who  are 
absent  often  need  such  a  text-book  to  find  out  the 
work  accomplished  and  as  a  means  of  recovering  the 
ground  lost 

Are  these  In    trying    to    lay   down    uniform    principles    of 

metn°d  tne  question  naturally  arises  whether  there 
can  be  one  method  flexible  enough  to  apply  to  all 
studies  and  to  children  of  different  ages.  Teachers 
are  prone  to  think  that  such  a  single  method  must 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  305 

produce  a  dull  uniformity  in  the  treatment  of  all 
studies.  On  the  contrary,  we  claim  that  the  laws 
of  teaching  embodied  in  the  formal  steps  lead  natu- 
rally to  a  great  variety  in  the  recitation  work  in 
different  studies.  Perhaps  the  chief  reason  for  this 
is  found  in  the  diversity  of  general  truths  or  laws 
worked  out  in  arithmetic,  history,  geography,  etc., 
and  in  the  wide  variety  of  concrete  materials  out 
of  which  these  truths  are  developed.  An  examina- 
tion of  the  processes  of  treating  these  contrasted 
topics  in  different  studies  will  show  how  great  is 
the  variety  in  method  coupled  with  uniformity  in 
fundamental  principles. 

In  geography  for  example,  in  such  topics  as  Min- 
neapolis as  a  trade  centre,  irrigation  in  the  West, 
a  coal  mine,  the  Rhine  River,  cotton  raising  in  the 
South,  etc.,  the  chief  burden  of  work  is  met  in  the 
first  and  second  steps,  where  each  topic  is  fully  dis- 
cussed and  reproduced  by  the  children.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  general  truth  which  is  developed  in 
the  third  and  fourth  steps  can  be  derived  quickly, 
requiring  only  a  small  portion,  relatively,  of  the  reci- 
tation time.  The  fifth  step  may  be  briefly  handled 
or  brought  in  by  comparison  in  discussing  later 
topics. 

This  emphasis  of  the  second  step  in  geography 
calls  for  a  definite  kind  of  knowledge  and  skill.  The 
teacher  must  know  the  full  concrete  details  of  his 
subject  and  be  able  to  present  them  in  a  graphic 


306  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

way.  In  primary,  intermediate,  and  even  in  gram- 
mar grades  this  abundance  of  interesting  material 
is  peculiarly  appropriate  to  the  mental  condition  of 
the  children  and  brings  into  full  action  the  senses 
and  the  imagination. 

What  has  just  been  said  of  geography  is  largely 
true  of  history.  In  the  history  lessons  of  intermedi- 
ate and  grammar  grades  there  is  great  need  for  ful- 
ness of  biographical  particulars  and  much  dramatic 
and  picturesque  narrative.  In  contrast  with  this  re- 
quirement our  text-books  are  filled  up  with  general 
statements,  important  enough  in  themselves,  but  not 
understood  for  lack  of  background  and  detail  color- 
ing. In  history,  therefore,  as  in  geography,  the  for- 
mal steps  point  out  the  exact  spot  where  the  greatest 
improvement  is  now  called  for ;  namely,  in  the  largely 
increasing  amount  of  personal,  individual,  narrative 
material,  which  should  be  introduced  to  give  keener 
relish  and  clearer  understanding  of  historical  or  geo- 
graphical truths.  For  younger  children  in  their  first 
approaches  to  history,  simple  and  interesting  biog- 
raphies are  strikingly  suited.  The  reasonableness  of 
this  demand  for  historical  biographies  is  so  generally 
felt  that  many  of  the  recent  books  introductory  to  his- 
tory have  made  this  idea  the  basis  of  their  treatment. 

In  history  the  time  given  to  comparisons  and  to 
the  formal  statement  of  general  truths  is  relatively 
brief,  as  in  geography.  This  is  illustrated  in  the 
lessons  on  King's  Mountain,  In  Unity  is  Strength, 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  3O/ 

The  Settlement  at  Plymouth,  Burgoyne's  Invasion, 
The  Invention  of  the  Cotton  Gin,  etc.  Indeed,  it 
may  be  said  that  any  geographical  or  historical  topic 
which  has  been  fully  worked  over  in  the  first  and 
second  steps  will  lead  up  quickly  to  a  clear  under- 
standing of  important  general  truths.  No  great 
amount  of  time,  then,  need  be  spent  on  the  third 
or  fourth  steps. 

A  third  study  which  may  be  classed  with  those  just 
mentioned  is  natural  science.  In  this,  also,  the  first 
and  second  steps  largely  predominate  and  absorb 
most  of  the  recitation  time.  Here,  again,  the  general 
truths  arrived  at  in  the  third  and  fourth  steps  may  be 
briefly  stated.  But  the  process  of  treating  a  science 
topic  in  the  first  and  second  steps  is  quite  distinct  from 
that  in  geography  and  history.  In  natural  science 
lessons  the  children  are  in  the  presence  of  the  objects 
of  study,  and  must  learn  to  observe  and  scrutinize  the 
facts.  The  skill  required  of  the  teacher  is  not  that  of 
graphic  description  or  narrative,  but  that  of  guiding 
the  children  to  a  close  observation,  description,  and 
inference.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  lessons  on  the 
milkweed  butterfly,  where  the  children  observe  the 
outdoor  life  of  butterflies,  collect  specimens,  examine, 
compare,  and  draw  conclusions  as  to  butterfly  life. 

These  three  studies,  therefore,  —  natural  science, 
geography,  and  history,  —  while  they  agree  in  giving  a 
strong  emphasis  to  the  second  step,  present  a  striking 
variety  in  the  method  of  treatment  suited  to  the 


3O8  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

peculiar  materials  of  each  study.  They  harmonize 
also  in  abbreviating  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  steps ; 
and  yet  the  general  truths  formulated  and  applied  in 
the  fourth  and  fifth  steps  are  so  widely  divergent  that 
a  free  inventiveness  and  originality  on  the  teacher's 
part  are  always  appropriate.  The  formal  steps  lay 
no  clamp  upon  the  teacher. 

In  arithmetic  our  present  methods  of  teaching 
place  great  emphasis  upon  the  fourth  and  fifth  steps, 
i.e.  upon  the  statement  and  application  of  rules. 
Generally  speaking,  neither  text-books  nor  teachers 
spend  much  time  in  the  inductive  solution  of  problems 
before  stating  the  rule.  Perhaps  nine-tenths  of  the 
time  of  arithmetic  recitations  is  consumed  in  learn- 
ing and  applying  the  rules.  In  arithmetic  we  have, 
therefore,  in  present  practice,  the  exact  opposite  of 
what  we  have  described  in  geography,  history,  and 
natural  science,  and  this  is,  in  the  main,  defensible. 
Even  in  the  proper  teaching  of  arithmetic  by  inductive 
methods  a  much  greater  amount  of  time  will  be 
spent  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  steps  than  on  the  first 
and  second.  Our  present  practice  in  arithmetic 
neglects  the  inductive  approaches  to  rules,  as  every 
experienced  teacher  knows.  The  formal  steps  call 
attention  to  the  importance  of  inductive  processes  in 
working  up  to  arithmetical  rules. 

In  the  study  of  formal  grammar  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  there  is  also  a  preponderance  of  the 
fourth  and  fifth  steps.  The  amount  of  language 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  309 

material  already  collected  in  the  experience  of  the 
children  makes  it  possible  to  devote  the  major  part  of 
the  pupil's  time  not  to  the  acquisition  of  new  indi- 
vidual facts  in  language,  but  to  the  collection  and 
comparison  of  familiar  facts,  to  the  formulation  of 
general  truths  and  their  application.  In  developing 
any  language  principle  in  the  first  and  second  steps 
it  is  necessary  to  bring  together  familiar  language 
material,  but  there  is  no  need  for  description  or 
narrative  such  as  is  found  in  geography  and  history. 

Moreover,  in  both  arithmetic  and  grammar  we  are 
able  to  work  out  a  somewhat  complete  and  systematic 
body  of  thought  before  completing  the  grammar 
school.  But  in  geography,  history,  and  natural  sci- 
ence no  such  complete  system  is  possible.  As  re- 
marked above,  it  is  necessary  in  these  studies  to 
collect  a  large  body  of  new  and  concrete  data,  and  in 
this  lies  a  large  part  of  the  labor  and  interest  of  the 
study.  The  general  truths  reached,  while  extremely 
important,  are  not  so  numerous  nor  so  complete  and 
systematic  in  statement  and  arrangement  as  in  arith- 
metic and  grammar.  The  fact  that  the  definitions  and 
rules  of  grammar  and  arithmetic  can  be  definitely 
developed  out  of  particular  data,  and  formulated  in  logi- 
cal statements  which  can  then  be  applied,  makes  the 
treatment  of  topics  in  these  studies  (arithmetic  and 
grammar)  almost  perfect  illustrations  of  the  inductive- 
deductive  method  of  instruction. 

In  reading  lessons  a  close  analysis  is  necessary  to 


3IO  METHOD   OF   RECITATION 

show  the  definite  application  of  the  formal  steps. 
Reading  has  two  phases.  On  the  one  side  is  learning 
how  to  read,  first  by  mastering  the  symbols  in  primary 
grades,  and  second  by  drill  in  easy,  natural  oral  ex- 
pression in  all  the  grades.  On  the  other  hand,  reading 
means  learning  to  appreciate  and  interpret  the  thought 
content  of  the  lessons,  the  ideas,  experiences,  and 
truths  embodied  in  the  best  reading  matter.  In  short, 
reading  may  signify  a  mastery  of  symbols  or  a  study 
of  literature. 

The  body  of  knowledge  to  be  acquired  in  learning 
how  to  read  appears  unsystematic  and  must  be  care- 
fully sifted  out  by  the  teacher  to  get  at  the  essential 
ideas.  The  work  consists  largely  of  learning  a  set  of 
symbols  and  word  forms  and  of  associating  with  them 
the  already  familiar  forms  of  oral  language.  It  includes 
also  the  physical  development  and  exercise  of  the 
vocal  organs.  One  of  the  chief  causes  of  poor  read- 
ing is  that  teachers  do  not  sift  out  the  essential  ideas 
in  this  somewhat  miscellaneous  body  of  exercises. 
While  the  general  truths  involved  are  somewhat 
fugitive  and  difficult  of  formulation,  they  should  be 
as  definitely  grasped  and  stated  as  possible. 

There  are  certain  rules  for  the  spelling  and  pro- 
nunciation of  words,  for  the  distinct  articulation  of 
vowels  and  final  consonants,  for  acquiring  natural, 
conversational  tones,  for  the  expression  of  different 
feelings  and  emotions,  for  emphasis  and  apt  expres- 
sion of  thought. 


APPLICATIONS   AND   CRITICISMS  311 

Such  general  directions  do  not  cover  the  whole 
ground,  but  they  indicate  what  sort  of  definiteness 
should  characterize  the  teacher's  effort.  They  may 
be  worked  out  inductively  and  applied  in  the  class 
room.  In  order  to  show  that  the  art  of  reading  involves 
principles,  it  is  only  necessary  to  ask,  What  is  the 
teacher's  chief  purpose  in  any  given  lesson  ?  e.g. 
distinct  articulation  or  natural  expression.  If  she  has 
no  such  distinct  purpose,  her  work,  lacking  aim,  will 
be  loose  and  indefinite,  and  specific  progress  will  not 
be  made. 

Looked  at  from  the  standpoint  of  the  thought  and 
culture  material  supplied  in  reading,  there  are  many 
truths,  historical,  scientific,  and  social,  which  ought  to 
be  worked  out  in  reading  lessons.  Illustrations  of  this 
embodiment  of  truths  may  be  found  in  "  The  Vision 
of  Sir  Launfal,"  "The  Great  Stone  Face,"  "The 
Psalm  of  Life,"  and  "Evangeline." 

Reading,  in  both  its  phases,  greatly  emphasizes 
the  step  of  application.  It  is  one  of  the  most  directly 
useful  of  all  studies,  first  because  the  ability  to  read 
is  applied  so  constantly  in  most  kinds  of  instruction  ; 
and  second,  because  the  reading  of  good  books  sup- 
plies one  with  the  best  outfit  of  social  and  culture 
ideals.  The  fifth  step,  therefore,  in  all  reading 
exercises,  is  doubly  important.  To  apply  thoroughly 
the  few  rules  and  principles  of  oral  reading  is 
essential  to  good  work,  and  bringing  to  bear  the 
social  ideals  derived  from  reading  upon  the  behavior 


312  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

and  upon  all  the  social  life  of  the  school  is  vitally 
important.  The  demand  for  graphic,  concrete 
illustrations  in  the  second  step,  and  for  the  apper- 
ceptive  use  of  familiar  experiences  in  the  first  step, 
is  strongly  felt  in  all  good  reading  work. 

In  this  brief  survey  of  the  school  studies  we  observe 
that  the  formal  steps  are  capable  of  great  variety  of 
adjustment  to  the  peculiar  subject-matter  and  needs 
of  different  studies.  The  widely  divergent  character 
of  the  general  truths  developed,  and  the  still  more 
divergent  subject-matter  from  which  they  are  drawn, 
are  a  complete  test  of  the  flexibility  of  any  proposed 
principles  of  instruction.  We  find  that  these  simple 
principles  of  induction  and  deduction  possess  ade- 
quate elasticity.  They  are  not  a  dull,  mechanical 
device  for  reducing  all  studies  to  a  uniform  method. 
On  the  contrary,  they  not  only  allow,  but  require, 
great  flexibility  and  originality  in  the  teacher.  At 
the  same  time,  there  is  a  fundamental  movement, 
which  is  the  same  in  all  the  studies  and  is  the  basis 
of  scientific  method.  But  the  point  to  be  emphasized  is 
that  these  principles  not  only  lay  requirements  upon 
the  teacher,  but  they  are  a  great  help  to  her ;  they 
define  the  course  so  clearly,  in  a  large  way,  as  to  be 
encouraging  and  inspiring.  They  bring  definiteness 
into  the  field  of  teaching,  where  without  them  one 
is  lost.  They  are  indispensable  as  a  guide  to  young 
teachers,  and  a  strong  corrective  of  poor  methods  in 
experienced  ones. 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  313 

Looking  abroad,  beyond  the  range  of  common 
school  studies,  we  may  find  in  the  kindergarten,  in 
the  high  school  and  university,  in  Sunday-school  and 
pulpit,  many  places  which  will  still  further  test  the 
flexibility  of  this  method  of  instruction  in  its  applica- 
tion to  the  needs  of  education. 

In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  mainly  the 
varying  application  of  the  inductive  and  deductive 
processes  to  text-books  and  to  the  different  studies. 
But  the  formal  steps  also  involve  other  principles  of 
very  great  importance.  Closely  linked  with  the 
inductive  and  deductive  processes  are  the  principles 
of  apperception,  of  interest,  of  self-activity,  of  logical 
sequence  in  thinking,  of  aim-setting,  of  the  selection 
of  types  and  lesson  unities.  All  these  are  involved 
in  the  application  of  the  formal  steps  to  each  of  the 
branches  of  study.  We  may  say,  in  brief,  that 
the  inductive-deductive  thought  movement  furnishes 
the  opportunity  for  every  one  of  these  principles  to  be 
put  into  efficient  operation.  When  properly  arranged 
and  adjusted  to  one  another,  these  principles  are  not 
antagonistic,  but  work  in  harmony.  The  principle 
of  apperception,  for  instance,  applies  to  every  lesson 
unity,  no  matter  in  what  study,  and  the  formal  steps 
make  definite  provision  for  the  exercise  of  this  prin- 
ciple in  each  important  topic  studied.  The  other  prin- 
ciples may  be  tested  in  the  same  way,  in  each  study. 

Before  any  such  plan  of  selecting  and  of  treating 
topics  can  be  generally  accepted,  it  should  be  grounded 


314  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

in  psychology  and  its  worth  practically  demonstrated 
to  the  satisfaction  of  teachers  in  a  large  variety  of 
studies.  Our  present  educational  practice  is  based 
upon  traditions  and  theories  which  partly  support  and 
partly  antagonize  the  principles  of  the  formal  steps. 
We  can  well  afford  to  examine  and  test  them  from 
both  standpoints. 

Criticisms  of  Any  well-matured  plan  based  upon  psychology  and 
sound  theory  ought  to  be  an  ideal  which  our  practice 
has  only  partially  attained.  Many  of  the  best  criti- 
cisms, therefore,  will  be  found  to  be  simply  practical 
difficulties  which  inevitably  arise  in  every  effort  to 
gain  greater  proficiency  and  skill. 

The  first  criticism,  which  the  friends  as  well  as  the 
opponents  of  any  plan  of  instruction  must  seriously 
consider,  is  found  in  the  query,  "Is  it  scientific?" 
This  question  we  have  attempted  to  discuss  at  length 
in  the  earlier  chapters.  The  psychology  of  the  in- 
dividual and  general  notion,  of  percept  and  concept, 
was  laid  down  in  the  earlier  chapters  as  the  scien- 
tific basis  of  the  inductive  movement  in  learning.  If 
there  is  any  one  process  in  mental  life  upon  which 
the  psychologists,  as  scientific  thinkers,  are  agreed, 
we  take  it  to  be  this  normal  movement  of  the  mind 
from  particular  to  general,  from  percept  to  concept. 
Moreover,  the  great  educational  writers,  some  of 
them  psychologists  of  the  first  rank,  as  Comenius, 
Locke,  Rousseau,  Pestalozzi,  and  Spencer,  have  given 
an  overwhelming  emphasis  to  this  one  idea. 


APPLICATIONS   AND    CRITICISMS  315 

It  seems  improbable  that  teachers  will  object  to 
any  of  the  fundamental  principles,  considered  singly, 
such  as  sense  perception,  beginning  with  the  individual 
and  concrete,  self-activity  in  acquiring  and  in  using 
ideas,  apperception,  the  inductive  movement  from 
particulars  to  generals  through  close  observation  and 
comparison,  clear  formulation  and  memorizing  of  the 
general  truth,  the  deductive  extension  of  truth  acquired 
to  new  particulars,  repeated  applications  till  pro- 
ficiency in  common  use  is  gained.  But  there  is  a 
further  question,  whether  we  have  rightly  estimated 
these  various  principles  according  to  their  relative 
value,  and  have  found  out  what  are  their  true 
sequence  and  interdependence.  This  organization  of 
essential  principles  into  a  compact  plan,  flexible 
enough  to  be  applied  to  different  studies,  may  well 
be  subjected  to  close  criticism.  Even  if  such  a  plan 
is  adapted  to  geography  and  history,  has  it  equal 
value  for  mathematics,  reading,  and  Latin  ? 

In  this  critical  discussion  it  is  not  difficult  to  keep 
in  mind  the  three  principal  stages  in  the  mental 
movement  upon  which  the  formal  steps  are  based: 
(i)  perception,  or  getting  the  knowledge  of  the 
individual ;  (2)  the  inductive  process  up  to  the  clear 
statement  of  the  general  truth ;  (3)  deduction,  or  the 
varied  application  of  the  truth  to  new  data.  Just  to 
the  extent  to  which  we  find  this  movement  in  learning 
to  be  general  or  universal,  we  have  a  scientific  basis 
for  method  in  instruction. 


316  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

Natural  reac-  But  we  naturally  resist  the  proposition  to  bind  our- 
law. agaiE  selves  down  to  any  law  of  instruction.  So  strong  is 
the  instinct  tozvard  individual  freedom  that  we  will 
submit  to  no  law  unless  it  is  very  clear  and  very  im- 
perative. Instead  of  finding  this  general  law  ac- 
,  cepted,  we  shall  be  met  with  the  unfailing  criticism 
that  we  are  drifting  into  a  hard  and  close  routine. 
This  criticism  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  the 
teacher  is  trying  to  make  an  artificial  mould  in  which 
mental  action  is  to  run,  rather  than  that  the  nature 
and  constitution  of  the  mind  itself  determine  its  mode 
of  activity.  The  main  question  goes  back  to  the 
previous  query,  Have  we  found  the  natural  process  ? 
All  will  agree  that  the  teacher  cannot  arbitrarily 
make  the  process,  he  can  only  help  to  guide  the 
minds  of  children  along  the  road  of  their  best  natu- 
ral free  expression. 

We  have  a  right  to  resist  any  arbitrary  effort  to 
impose  upon  us  an  artificial,  dogmatic  law  of  in- 
struction. But  having  rationally  and  experimen- 
tally worked  our  way  to  an  understanding  of  the 
simple  principles  of  teaching,  it  is  true  wisdom  and 
self-mastery  to  constrain  ourselves  in  practice  to  con- 
form to  them. 

The  freedom  of  the  teacher  consists  not  in  disre- 
garding the  law,  but  in  finding  it  out  and  obeying  it. 
If   psychologists  and  teachers  have  been  so  for- 
tunate as  to  find   the   natural   highways  of  human 
thought,  all  this  crying  out  against  mechanism  and 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  317 

formalism  is  only  so  much  railing  at  the  laws  of 
nature.  The  whole  question  of  freedom  and  origi- 
nality in  the  teacher  may  be  one  of  obeying  the  laws 
of  nature,  or  of  constantly  blundering  in  the  effort 
to  be  free  and  original.  The  teacher  must  have 
either  an  instinctive  tact  or  a  conscious  insight  into 
the  simple  laws  of  mental  life  and  action,  or  this  much- 
lauded  freedom  and  originality  is  entirely  eccentric 
and  unreliable.  That  teacher  will  possess  the  great- 
est freedom,  versatility,  and  power  in  instruction  who 
is  most  skilful  in  obeying  the  law  which  regulates 
the  child's  thinking.  We  are  constantly  driven  back, 
therefore,  to  the  fundamental  question :  Are  we  mis- 
taken in  our  interpretation  of  the  mental  movement 
in  children  ?  Have  we  wisely  applied  the  principles 
of  psychology  to  method  in  teaching  ? 

But  even  if  our  principles  are  correct  and  our  in- 
terpretation of  this  general  process  well  grounded, 
we  are  still  exposed  to  the  danger  of  countenancing 
a  dull  routine.  The  formal  steps,  like  any  other  plan 
of  recitation  work,  may  be  reduced  to  a  mechanical 
form,  destitute  of  life.  There  is  no  protection  against 
this  kind  of  routine  except  in  spirited  and  earnest 
teachers.  A  well-grounded  process  in  teaching  will 
not  save  the  teacher  who  lacks  knowledge  of  his 
subject,  who  lacks  insight  and  tact  in  managing 
children,  or  who  is  destitute  of  spirit  and  originality. 
In  other  words,  the  teacher  must  throw  the  whole 
strength  of  his  personality  into  those  channels  which 


318  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

a  wise  method  has  laid  out,  or  else  failure  is  sure. 
We  can  easily  expect  too  much  from  formal  princi- 
ples and  plans  of  instruction.  They  are  valuable  as 
a  means  of  economizing  and  of  concentrating  the 
teacher's  energies  within  the  best  channels.  The 
tacit  assumption  always  is  that  a  teacher  pours  his 
own  versatile  and  vigorous  spirit  through  these 
channels.  Without  this  the  form  of  instruction  is 
like  a  dry  mill-race.  It  may  be  admitted  that  an 
active-minded,  independent  teacher  may  feel  ham- 
pered, for  a  time,  in  the  attempt  to  apply  the  formal 
steps  of  instruction.  But  just  as  a  young  pianist 
gradually  overcomes  awkwardness  and  self-conscious- 
ness in  following  the  directions  dictated  by  the  prin- 
ciples of  music,  so  the  teacher  can  expect  to  free 
himself  gradually  from  the  feeling  of  constraint,  and 
in  the  easy  use  of  these  principles  find  a  means  of 
power. 

Another  criticism  against  the  method  of  instruc- 
tion under  discussion  is  that  it  increases  the  load  of 
the  teacher,  while  it  reduces  the  amount  of  indepen- 
dent effort  required  of  the  pupil.  This  criticism,  if  true, 
strikes  a  fatal  blow  at  the  whole  plan.  There  is,  in 
deed,  an  appearance  of  justice  in  this  criticism.  The 
teacher  is  required  to  show  greater  skill  in  presenting 
topics  (in  the  second  step),  more  power  to  illustrate 
and  explain,  more  insight  and  tact  in  calling  out  the 
experience  and  older  knowledge  of  children  (first  and 
second  steps),  greater  precision  and  aptness  in  ques- 


APPLICATIONS   AND    CRITICISMS  319 

tioning  and  in  developing  general  truths  (in  second, 
third,  and  fourth  steps),  a  more  complete  logical 
mastery  of  the  principles  of  the  subject  taught, 
and  their  various  applications.  All  these  things 
are  necessary  to  first-class  teaching,  and  where  the 
teacher  has  not  yet  acquired  this  sort  of  professional 
knowledge  and  skill,  these  requirements  are  indeed 
a  burden. 

But  most  persons  will  acknowledge  that  these  re- 
quirements are  just.  The  teacher  must  assume  the 
obligation  of  a  larger  mastery  of  his  subject  and  of  a 
readier  proficiency  in  class-room  treatment.  In  this 
we  are  simply  setting  up  a  standard  to  which  teachers 
are  encouraged  to  rise,  and  which  lays  upon  them 
the  burden  of  professional  equipment. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  this  difficulty.  That 
which  at  first  glance  seems  only  a  heavy  burden 
becomes  later  an  inspiration  and  easement.  Having 
once  acquired  professional  knowledge  and  skill,  the 
teacher  will  find  his  work  becoming  less  mechanical 
and  burdensome,  more  spirited  and  engrossing.  The 
feeling  of  conscious  power,  based  on  previous  success, 
becomes  an  exhilaration,  and  the  teacher  moves  up 
to  a  larger  freedom  and  capacity  for  instruction.  In- 
stead of  the  cramping  influence  of  a  narrow  routine, 
he  feels  the  expansive  energy  of  a  clear  and  gener- 
ous purpose  working  in  practical  ways.  The  crit- 
icism against  this  so-called  overburdening  of  the 
teacher  loses  its  point  when  we  consider  that  the  out- 


32O  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

come  of  a  mastery  of  these  principles  of  teaching 
and  of  their  skilful  use  means  economy  of  effort  and 
the  inspiration  of  success. 

But  the  more  important  question  is,  What  effect  has 
this  method  upon  children  ;  does  it  make  thinkers  and 
workers,  or  does  it  produce  lassitude  and  easy-going 
habits  of  study  ? 

It  is  sometimes  supposed  that  the  more  skilful 
and  efficient  the  teacher  and  the  method,  the  less  the 
pupils  have  to  do.  Just  as  if  we  had  forgotten 
the  underlying  purpose  of  all  study,  to  produce  the 
greatest  vigor  of  self-activity  in  the  pupils.  The 
essence  of  all  good  teaching  is  to  stimulate  thought- 
fulness  and  self-effort  in  the  pupil.  Even  where  the 
teacher  in  the  second  step  presents  or  illustrates 
topics,  his  purpose  is  to  awaken  thought  and  to 
secure  close  attention,  and  to  increase  the  labor  of 
the  pupil. 

Whatever  is  thus  presented  by  the  teacher  must 
be  appropriated  and  reproduced  by  the  pupil.  Much 
greater  vigor  of  attention  and  effort  can  be  secured 
under  the  eye  of  the  strong  teacher  in  the  recitation 
than  in  isolated  seat-work  where  the  pupil  may 
dawdle  as  much  as  he  pleases. 

The  recitation  itself  is  one  of  the  best  places  in 
which  children  can  be  trained  into  habits  of  keen  and 
close  attention.  But  so  far  as  possible  the  habit  there 
formed  should  be  strengthened  by  similar  exertions 
in  seat-work  and  in  home-study.  The  main  question 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  321 

is,  Where  and  how  can  the  teacher  bring  his  person- 
ality to  bear  upon  a  child  in  such  a  way  as  to  induce 
strong  and  vigorous  mental  action?  Our  answer  is 
that  it  depends  upon  the  manner  in  which  the  teacher 
handles  his  subjects  in  the  class  room.  If  he  knows 
how  to  interest  and  intensify  intellectual  and  will 
power  in  the  recitation,  the  seat-work  and  the  home- 
study  will  fall  into  line.  In  other  words,  it  is  a  ques- 
tion of  method  in  the  recitation. 

Some  children  will  probably  learn  how  to  concen- 
trate their  powers  if  left  to  themselves  with  books, 
but  most  pupils  need  the  presence  of  the  vigorous 
and  incisive  teacher  to  give  them  their  tempo  in 
intellectual  action. 

Equally  important  with  this  habit  of  concentrating 
attention  is  the  ability  to  think  logically  and  indepen- 
dently. We  want  self-reliant  thinkers.  The  Socratic 
method  of  discussion,  while  very  difficult,  is  the  only 
one  that  can  lead  to  this  result 

Throughout  the  general  inductive  process  (first, 
second,  third)  and  fourth  steps)  a  careful  scrutiny 
will  show  that  a  child  is  constantly  thrown  back  upon 
his  own  resources  in  observation  (sense  perception), 
in  the  resort  to  home  experience  and  previous  knowl- 
edge (apperception),  in  the  careful  statement  (repro- 
duction) of  all  facts  observed  or  presented  in  the 
class,  in  making  comparisons,  and  in  the  statement 
of  general  truths  which  are  formulated  by  the 
children  themselves.  The  underlying  purpose  of  all 


322  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

this  work  is  to  arouse  vigor  of  thought  and  self- 
exertion  on  the  part  of  the  pupils. 

It  is  an  extremely  superficial  and  perverted  view  of 
this  process  therefore  to  call  it  a  method  of  making 
study  merely  easy,  entertaining,  and  non-laborious  to 
children.  Mental  effort  should  always  be  tense,  not 
loose  and  flabby.  It  requires  skilful  teaching  under 
any  circumstances  to  produce  this  kind  of  sturdy,  self- 
reliant  effort.  But  we  shall  certainly  not  solve  the 
problem  by  allowing  the  teacher  to  abdicate  his  posi- 
tion and  his  duty  as  a  skilful  leader  in  the  class  room 
and  to  roll  the  whole  burden  and  responsibility  upon 
the  pupil  by  saying  that  he  must  learn  the  entire 
lesson  before  he  comes  to  the  class. 

The  teacher  is  more  than  a  simple  taskmaster,  and 
his  function  as  a  taskmaster  should  remain  in  the 
background  till  other  and  better  means  of  stimulus 
fail. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  teacher  to  economize  effort 
for  the  children  as  well  as  for  himself ;  to  get  at 
truth  by  the  shortest  route,  along  the  line  of  least 
resistance.  We  need  not  be  frightened  by  such  a 
statement.  There  will  be  plenty  of  difficulties  to  call 
out  their  powers,  numberless  tasks  in  which  they  can 
work  out  their  own  salvation.  One  of  the  great 
problems  in  the  use  of  coal  and  electricity  is  to  reduce 
the  waste,  to  economize  by  utilizing  the  highest  per- 
centage of  power.  So  in  mental  operations. 

There  is  a  great  folly  in  wasting  a  child's  effort 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  323 

upon  some  problem  which  he  is  not  ready  for,  when 
the  teaching  has  been  so  blundering  as  to  bring  him 
against  a  difficulty  he  is  not  prepared  to  meet.  One 
reason  why  we  have  to  help  children  so  much  is  be- 
cause of  our  unnatural  methods  of  bringing  them 
unprepared  into  difficulties.  If  we  lead  children  along 
according  to  the  natural  law  of  thought,  they  will 
solve  their  own  difficulties,  become  independent 
thinkers.  If  we  ignore  the  laws  of  teaching,  we  have 
to  step  in  frequently  to  extricate  them  from  their 
difficulties.  Ease  of  movement  is  a  good  thing.  If 
all  our  school  work  is  encumbered  with  the  heavy  drag 
of  toilsome  effort,  i.e.  of  effort  put  forth  merely  to 
overcome  needless  friction,  it  becomes  terribly  depress- 
ing. 

One  of  the  most  serious  obstacles  in  the  way  of  in- 
troducing such  a  class-room  method  as  we  have 
proposed  (including  spirited  oral  work,  presentation 
of  topics  by  the  teacher,  and  a  Socratic  mode  of  ques- 
tion, answer,  and  statement  by  children),  is  the  fatal  ten- 
dency, with  many  teachers,  of  allowing  this  process  to 
degenerate  into  a  waste  of  time,  an  aimless  wander- 
ing and  inadequate  treatment  of  topics.  The  awkward 
and  abortive  development  lessons  too  often  observed, 
may  easily  lead  us  into  a  condemnation  of  inductive 
methods  of  teaching. 

The  old-fashioned  text-book  work,  in  which  children 
learn  their  lessons  and  recite  them,  is  far  better  than 
this  so-called  development  work.  But  there  is  some- 


324  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

thing  better  than  the  old  verbatim  recitation,  and  it 
involves  the  higher  power  of  skilful  oral  discussion  of 
topics  in  the  recitation.  The  fact  that  so  many  of  us 
are  clumsy  in  teaching  inductively  is  no  sufficient 
reason  why  we  should  not  set  up  for  professional  at 
tainment  that  method  which  has  most  highly  recom- 
mended itself  to  the  good  sense  of  the  best  thinkers 
and  teachers.  We  have  many  teachers  to-day, 
especially  in  primary  and  intermediate  grades,  who 
are  so  expert  in  the  oral  treatment  of  topics  that  they 
could  not  be  induced  to  return  to  a  duller  method. 
All  the  great  writers  on  education,  Comenius,  Locke, 
Pestalozzi,  Spencer,  and  Mann,  have  condemned  the 
purely  deductive  method  of  imparting  general  truths 
dogmatically  in  elementary  schools.  In  all  schools  and 
institutes,  therefore,  where  teachers  are  in  training,  it 
is  needful  that  inductive  methods  of  study  be  cultivated, 
illustrated,  and  applied. 

Still  another  criticism  has  been  raised,  on  the 
ground  that  the  inductive  methods  of  teaching  do  not 
lead  to  such  a  thoroughness  and  mastery  of  the  subjects 
as  deductive  teaching  and  formal  drills.  One  of  the 
strong  points  in  the  education  of  the  past,  which  has 
been  chiefly  deductive,  was  the  thoroughness  of  its 
discipline  by  drills  and  repetitions.  At  least  such 
has  been  the  firm  conviction  of  its  friends.  It  is 
incumbent  upon  the  inductive  processes  of  teaching 
to  show  a  superior  kind  of  thoroughness,  not  only 
that  looseness  and  shallowness  are  not  the  necessary 


APPLICATIONS    AND    CRITICISMS  325 

fruitage  of  inductive  methods,  but  that  a  thoughtful- 
ness,  a  careful  assimilation  of  knowledge,  an  organic 
building-up  of  thought-masses,  results,  which  gives 
the  best  sort  of  thoroughness  and  mastery  of  studies. 

In  schools  where  the  formal  steps  have  been 
systematically  worked  out  and  applied,  such  thorough- 
ness has  been  one  of  the  main  results  aimed  at.  It 
shows  itself  especially  in  the  power  to  use  what  has 
been  learned.  In  Chapter  VII,  where  the  acquisition 
of  particular  notions  is  treated,  and  in  the  chapter  on 
the  Application  of  General  Notions,  there  was  an 
unusual  and  varied  emphasis  of  this  perfect  mastery. 
In  addition  to  this  we  may  evidence  the  fact  that  in 
closing  up  the  work  of  the  second  and  fourth  steps, 
careful  and  thorough  reproductions  and  drills  are 
held  to  be  an  essential  part  of  this  plan  of  teaching. 
At  these  two  stations  we  can  afford  to  stop  and  sum- 
marize the  results  of  study.  These  are  the  two  points 
where  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  individual  notions 
(second  step)  and  general  notions  (fourth  step)  is 
rendered  indispensable.  Careful  repetitions  and 
drills  and  systematic  ordering  of  facts  and  principles 
are  insured  first  by  oral  exercises  in  the  class,  and 
secondly  by  clear  and  logical  outlines  and  full  written 
statement  of  principles  and  rules,  in  a  blank  book 
carefully  kept  or  in  the  text-book  form. 

But  in  addition  to  these  important  stations  on  the 
recitation  road  specifically  devoted  to  careful  fixing 
of  ideas,  there  are  two  other  places  in  which  the  final 


326  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

complete  mastery  of  knowledge  is  tested ;  namely,  in 
the  apperceptive  use  to  which  all  our  resources  of 
knowledge  and  experience  are  put  in  the  first  step, 
and  in  the  applications  which  are  so  completely 
worked  out  in  the  fifth  step. 

The  greatest  difficulty  which  lies  in  the  way  of  a 
psychological  procedure  in  teaching,  which  is  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  the  children  and  to  the  material 
treated,  is  the  whole  traditional  method  of  instruction 
now  in  vogue.  No  one  teacher  or  group  of  teachers 
is  responsible  for  this.  The  plan  which  commonly 
prevails  of  allowing  children  to  prepare  their  lessons 
at  their  seats,  and  come  to  the  recitation  to  recite,  the 
prominence  of  the  text-book  with  its  brief  statement 
of  facts  and  principles  and  the  rigid  dependence  of 
teacher  and  pupils  upon  it,  the  emphasis  put  upon 
testing  and  examining  by  teachers  —  all  these  things 
are  matters  of  long-established  custom,  and  are  firmly 
rooted  in  the  habits  and  convictions  of  our  teachers 
of  all  grades  of  excellence.  The  plan  of  recitation 
which  we  propose  runs  counter,  in  important  points, 
to  these  traditional  methods.  It  calls  for  much 
greater  mastery  of  the  subject  taught,  a  closer 
acquaintance  with  the  children's  experience,  greater 
skill  in  instructing,  and  more  shrewdness  and  ability 
in  throwing  the  children  upon  their  own  resources 
and  self-activity.  It  is  a  plan  for  developing  greater 
tact,  originality,  and  expert  skill  in  every  phase  of 
instruction.  For  this  reason  it  cannot  be  accepted 


APPLICATIONS   AND    CRITICISMS  327 

at  once  by  all  teachers.  It  calls  for  too  great  a 
change  from  routine  methods  to  methods  based  on 
clear  insight  and  skilfully  applied. 

A  misconception  that  needs  to  be  carefully  guarded 
against  is  that  every  recitation  should  show  the  full 
treatment  of  a  topic  through  the  series  of  five  steps. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  seldom  that  a  single  recitation 
will  reveal  the  treatment  of  a  subject  in  this  complete 
series.  Frequently  it  requires  one  or  several  recita- 
tions to  handle  merely  the  second  step  of  a  lesson 
unity.  Sometimes  the  application  of  a  principle  (fifth 
step)  will  require  the  whole  recitation  period  or  more. 
The  unit  of  instruction  is  not  the  time  of  a  single 
recitation,  but  the  central  truth  to  be  worked  out  and 
applied  in  a  lesson  unity. 

Another  misconception  is  that  any  given  method 
whole  (or  lesson  unity)  must  be  worked  out  com- 
pletely through  the  five  steps  before  another  method 
whole  is  taken  up.  On  the  contrary,  it  will  often 
happen  that  one  method  unit  will  be  carried  through 
the  first  and  second  steps,  and  then  dropped  for 
a  while,  other  unities  being  treated  in  the  interval. 
Later  on  new  examples  or  data  illustrating  the  first 
unity  come  up  for  treatment,  and  comparisons  are 
made  with  the  earlier  lesson  unit,  which  lead  on  to 
the  statement  of  a  general  truth  and  its  further 
application. 

If,  for  example,  the  children  have  studied  the 
upper  Mississippi  as  a  lumber  stream,  other  topics, 


328  METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

as  the  Great  Lakes,  the  Ohio  Valley,  Niagara  Falls, 
etc.,  intervening,  they  will  later  come  upon  the  lum- 
ber streams  of  Maine,  and  make  comparisons  with 
the  upper  Mississippi  as  to  the  mode  of  collecting 
and  distributing  lumber,  and  draw  a  larger  general 
truth  from  it  than  was  possible  with  the  Mississippi 
alone. 

In  history,  likewise,  the  children  have  studied  the 
battle  of  Bennington  long  before  they  read  of  the 
battle  of  King's  Mountain.  Many  other  topics  have 
come  in  between  these  two  events.  But  when  King's 
Mountain  has  been  described,  it  is  a  fitting  time  to 
make  the  comparison  with  the  battle  of  Bennington 
(third  step),  and  lead  on  to  a  statement  of  that  com- 
mon spirit  which  animated  the  patriots  in  both  these 
battles  (fourth  step),  while  still  later  conflicts  of  the 
Revolution  and  of  the  Civil  War  may  furnish  the 
best  applications  of  the  same  idea  (fifth  step). 

This  conception  of  the  free  use  of  the  formal  steps, 
according  to  the  necessities  of  the  study,  and  of  the 
particular  topic  under  treatment,  puts  the  teacher 
under  no  narrow  compulsion  and  removes  the  neces- 
sity for  cramping  any  lesson  into  an  artificial  method 
scheme. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

LESSON   PLANS 

THE  preceding  text  demands  that  every  progres- 
sive teacher  carefully  prepare  for  the  teaching  of 
any  topic.  This  requirement  necessitates  lesson 
plans  of  some  sort.  These  should  be  written  out 
in  detail  by  the  inexperienced  teacher,  as  often  as 
time  and  strength  permit.  It  makes  comparatively 
little  difference,  with  the  experienced  teacher, 
whether  they  be  written  out  or  only  thought  out, 
provided  a  well-digested  plan  is  in  her  mind  before 
instruction  begins.  The  best  assurance,  however, 
that  a  plan  has  been  properly  digested,  is  its  existence 
on  paper  in  proper  form.  Following  are  suggestions 
as  to  the  principal  features  desirable  in  such  a  plan. 

(Full  text  of  poem  "  Excelsior  "  at  this  point.) 

PLAN   FOR  TEACHING  "EXCELSIOR" 

Age  of  pupils,  12-13  years        Teacher's  principal  Aims  — 
(6th  year  of  school).  a.  Enjoyment  of  a  well-known 

poem,  hence  increased  love 
of  literature. 

b.  Appreciation  of  a  certain 
moral  idea,  i.e.  a  lofty  aim 
with  unhesitating  pursuit  of 
same. 

329 


330 


METHOD    OF   RECITATION 


SUBJECT-MATTER 


Simple  narrative  taken  literally. 
Meaning   of   difficult    words 
and  phrases. 

Leading  facts  in  literal  story. 


Interpretation. 


METHOD   OF  PRESENTATION 

Pupils'  Aim  — 

To  learn  what  .became  of  a 

young  man  who  attempted 

to  climb  the  Alps. 

Describe    a     lofty     mountain. 

What     are     seme     of     the 

dangers    one    might    expect 

to    meet    in     climbing     it  ? 

How    do    the   monks    come 

to    the     aid     of     mountain 

climbers  ? 

Read  the  poem,  stanza  by 
stanza. 

What  is  meant  by  device, 
falchion,  clarion,  spectral 
glacier,  awful  avalanche, 
startled  air  ? 

Read  the  poem  through  care- 
fully a  second  time.  De- 
scribe the  region.  Tell  the 
story. 

Was  the  young  man  joyous 
or  sad?  Read  answer  in 
words  of  author,  (w.  2, 
3,5.)  Was  he  attractive 
or  unattractive  in  appear- 
ance? (vv.  2,  5,  9.) 
What  things  tempted  him 
to  abandon  his  journey  ? 
(w.  3,  4,  5,  6.) 
Did  he  stop  ?  What  be- 
came of  him? 

Do  you  see  any  good  reason  why 
he  should  not  have  stopped? 
Was  he,  then,  a  foolish  fellow 
or  a  rash  adventurer? 


LESSON    PLANS 


331 


SUBJECT-MATTER 

Longfellow  calls  the  young  man 
"  beautiful,"  and  in  last  two 
lines  suggests  his  ascent  to 
heaven.  Story  figurative. 

The  mountain  signifies  a  steep 
road,  the  route  necessary  for 
an  unselfish  life.  The  happy 
homes  and  the  three  persons 
signify  types  of  temptation,  or 
of  overcautious  advisers. 


Striking  qualities  of  the  young 
man  are  unselfishness,  cour- 
age, determination,  energy. 


All  efficient  persons,  with  high 
ideals,  must  show  these  same 
qualities. 


METHOD  OF  PRESENTATION 

What  is  Longfellow's  opinion 
of  him  in  the  last  verse  ? 
How  explain  such  ap- 
proval ? 

Since  the  story  is  not  to  be 
taken  literally,  let  us  see  how 
it  should  be  interpreted. 
What  does  the  mountain  sig- 
nify?  The  happy  homes? 
The    old    man  ?       The 
maiden  ?     The  peasant? 
Why  is  the  device  spoken  of 
as  strange  ?     The  tongue, 
as  unknown?     Meaning  of 
excelsior? 

What  are  the  striking  qualities 
of  the  young  man  ?  How 
shown  ?  How  was  a  motto 
of  value  to  him  ?  Reason  for 
frequent  repetition  of  "Ex- 
celsior "  ? 

Describe  in  full  the  kind  of 
person  the  author  seems  to 
admire. 

Have    you    ever    known    or 
heard    of    such     persons : 
Washington,         Lincoln  ? 
Other  persons  in  history  ? 
in  present  time  ? 
Do  you  think  that  it  is  neces- 
sary for  every  good  person  to 
exercise  these  same  qualities  ? 
Proof  ? 

Does  this  poem  encourage  reck- 
lessness ?  Proof  ?  At  what 
times  do  we  most  need  to 


332 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 


SUBJECT-MATTER 


Style. 
Diction  —  beauty,  force. 


Good  oral  reading. 


METHOD   OF  PRESENTATION 

recall  it?  What  are  the  ad- 
vantages of  possessing  a  high 
ideal?  How  is  it  helpful  to 
have  a  motto  ? 

Find  some  happily  chosen  words. 

Which  stanzas  show  the  char- 
acter of  the  youth  most  for- 
cibly in  your  opinion  ?  Which 
seem  to  you  most  attractive? 

What  precautions,  if  any,  would 
you  suggest  for  the  proper 
reading  of  the  poem  aloud? 
Read  it  aloud. 


i.  The  most  apparent,  and  probably  the  most  im- 
portant characteristic  of  the  above  plan  is  the  complete 
separation  of  subject-matter  from  method ;  the  space  on 
the  left  of  a  line  drawn  down  the  page  is  devoted  solely 
to  subject-matter,  that  on  the  right,  solely  to  method. 

The  primary  reason  for  this  complete  separation  of 
two  very  different  kinds  of  matter  is  that  it  is  neces- 
sary, in  preparing  a  good  plan,  to  think  through 
subject-matter  independently  of  method,  and,  indeed, 
before  method  is  considered.  It  is  very  common  for 
teachers  to  begin  determining  their  method  of  pre- 
senting a  topic  before  making  sure  that  they  know 
the  facts  which  are  to  be  taught.  And  when  subject- 
matter  and  method  thus  become  mixed,  teachers  are 
not  easily  made  conscious  of  their  ignorance.  Their 
method,  too,  is  then  seriously  affected,  for  one  reason 
for  much  bad  method  is  that  the  facts  to  be  taught 


LESSON    PLANS  333 

have  not  been  clearly  conceived.  These  statements 
apply  as  much  to  grade  work  as  to  more  advanced 
instruction.  Students  are  urged,  therefore,  to  make 
themselves  masters  of  their  subject-matter,  to  practise 
outlining  it  for  that  purpose,  before  seriously  consider- 
ing the  manner  of  its  presentation. 

An  additional  reason  for  this  clear  separation  in 
the  plan  is  the  fact  that  a  critic  teacher  or  other 
supervisor  can  see  at  a  glance  the  instructor's  outline 
of  fact  and  of  method. 

2.  The   statements   in   the   left-hand   column   are 
intended  to  constitute  an  outline  of  the  facts  to  be 
presented,  in  close  sequence,  and  to  convey  full  mean- 
ing when  read  without   reference  to   the  right-hand 
column.     The  statements  in  the  right-hand   column 
are  likewise  intended  to  show  the  outline  of  method, 
in  close  sequence,  and  to  carry  full  meaning  when  read 
without  reference  to  the  left-hand  column. 

But  the  matter  on  the  two  sides  of  the  line  are  so 
placed  on  the  page  that  the  facts  in  the  left  will,  so 
far  as  possible,  have  their  method  of  presentation 
directly  opposite  to  them  on  the  right. 

3.  The  outline  of  method  consists  of  the  actually 
anticipated  conversation,  in  outline,  between  teacher 
and  pupils.     The  principal  questions  and  statements 
of  the   teacher,   and    the   replies   from   children,  — 
when  the  latter  seem  necessary,  which  is  seldom  the 
case, — therefore  appear  here  in  the  form  of  direct 
discourse. 


334  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

The  reason  for  this  requirement  is  seen  in  the  fact 
that  such  a  conversation  must  actually  take  place 
during  the  recitation  period,  and  this  is  the  nearest 
equivalent  to  the  real  thing — as  a  preparation.  To 
be  sure,  one  cannot  with  certainty  foresee  the  turns 
that  a  conversation  may  take ;  but  if  he  has  thought 
through  its  most  probable  course  with  care,  mean- 
while considering  its  possible  deviations,  he  is  far 
more  a  master  of  the  situation  than  otherwise,  far 
more  ready  for  the  unexpected.  A  carefully  con- 
sidered plan  is  the  means  of  securing  freedom  to  fol- 
low any  one  of  several  courses ;  in  other  words,  to 
adapt  one's  self  to  the  needs  of  pupils. 

This  requirement  applies  more  fully  to  "develop- 
ment lessons  "  than  to  recitations  in  which  the  time 
is  occupied  mainly  with  laboratory  experiment;  or 
translation;  or  written  work  at  the  desk  or  at  the 
board;  or  construction,  as  in  manual  training,  fine 
art,  domestic  science  and  domestic  art,  where  the 
pupils'  plan  has  already  been  completed  and  further 
help  from  the  teacher  is  individual.  It  applies  still 
less  to  the  supervision  of  study  hours,  library  read- 
ings, etc. 

Nevertheless,  a  well-developed  plan  of  procedure 
is  desirable  in  all  such  cases,  and  there  are  always 
the  two  factors  involved,  namely,  subject-matter,  in 
the  form  of  facts  that  are  to  be  put  before  the  pupils 
collectively  or  individually,  and  method,  or  the  man- 
ner of  presenting  these  facts.  Usually,  too,  if  a 


LESSON    PLANS  335 

teacher  is  properly  acquainted  with  his  subject  and 
his  pupils,  he  can  anticipate  what  points  will  need 
particular  attention,  in  what  respects  they  will  cause 
difficulty,  and  how  these  difficulties  may  best  be  met. 
For  example,  an  instructor  in  composition  in  the 
fourth  year  of  the  elementary  school,  or  in  the  high 
school,  should  foresee  important  difficulties  to  be 
encountered  by  his  class  and  the  remedies;  and  this 
is  true  even  though  they  be  writing  on  various  topics. 
Close  sequence  in  the  subject-matter  of  such  a  plan 
and  in  steps  of  method  is  likely  to  be  wanting,  to 
be  sure,  and  possibly  other  characteristics  here  sug- 
gested; but  conversation  or  directions  will  be  called 
for,  centring  usually  about  certain  few  points,  and  to 
the  extent  that  this  is  true,  a  plan  is  needed,  approxi- 
mating the  form  here  presented. 

4.  Careful  paragraphing  of  statements,  questions, 
etc.,  with  proper  indentation  to  indicate  subordinate 
relationship,  is  as  necessary  here  as  elsewhere.  In 
fact,  it  is  particularly  important  that  persons  prepar- 
ing, to  teach,  acquire  the  habit  of  grouping  related 
thoughts  and  recognizing  their  relative  subordination. 
Consequently  this  plan,  both  of  subject-matter  and 
method,  attempts  to  indicate  clearly,  by  the  form  on 
the  page,  what  the  chief  topics  are,  and  what  matter 
is  of  minor  importance.  This  is  only  a  preparation 
for  bringing  the  children  to  appreciate  exactly  the 
same  kind  of  relationships,  which  is  one  of  the  im- 
portant objects  of  instruction. 


METHOD    OF    RECITATION 

Teachers  allowed  to  use  the  terms  "  preparation," 
"presentation,"  "application,"  etc.,  in  their  plans, 
have  been  found,  very  often,  to  paragraph  on  the 
basis  of  such  headings.  But  these  are  psychological 
terms  ;  they  are  not  to  be  heard  in  actual  recitation, 
and  have  little  to  do  with  the  paragraphing  of  the 
thought  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  child.  They 
are,  therefore,  omitted  in  this  plan.  If,  however, 
they  sometimes  seem  necessary  for  the  better  com- 
prehension of  the  plan  on  the  part  of  supervisors, 
they  might  be  included,  but  enclosed  in  parentheses 
and  given  a  subordinate  place  on  the  page. 

5.  Some  exception  to  the  spirit  of  the  last  remarks 
is  made  in  the  plan  in  regard  to  the  aim.     The  out- 
line of  method   includes,  of  course,  the  aim  of  the 
recitation  as  worded  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
children.     But  since  the  aim  conceived  from  the  teach- 
er's point  of  view  is  usually  very  different  from  the 
children's  aim,  and  since  each  should  be  very  clearly 
apprehended  and  carefully  worded,  the  two  are  here 
included,  with  their  distinctive  names. 

6.  Owing  to  the  great   emphasis  laid  by  modern 
education  on  the  arousing  of  interest   through   new 
and  rich  thought,  there  is  a  strong  desire,  especially 
among  the   more   earnest  teachers,    for  a    constant 
advance  in  the  instruction.     On  this  account,  at  least 
partially,  these  teachers  are  prone  to  neglect  detailed 
reviews,  summaries,  and  drills.     Yet  these  are  matters 
of  the  highest  importance ;  interest  itself,  in  the  long 


LESSON    PLANS  337 

run,  demands  much  time  for  them.  For,  if  they  are 
overlooked,  children  soon  lose  the  outline  of  the 
subject-matter;  their  attempts  to  use  facts  recently 
taught  lead  to  failure,  then  discouragement  and  loss 
of  interest  follow. 

It  is  important,  therefore,  that  detailed  reviews, 
summaries,  and  drills  be  included  in  the  plans,  being 
sometimes  indicated  by  these  terms  in  parentheses 
at  the  proper  points,  but,  as  a  rule,  by  the  exact 
words  in  which  the  teacher  expects  to  call  for  such 
work.  Much  is  involved  in  the  last  requirement  It 
is  easy  enough,  of  course,  simply  to  ask  some  child  to 
"  review, "  or  "  summarize, "  certain  matter,  or  to 
"repeat  it  over  and  over."  But  the  pedagogical 
demand  for  live  questions  on  the  part  of  the  teacher 
applies  in  full  to  calls  for  reviews,  summaries,  and 
drills.  A  progressive  teacher  will  study  to  avoid 
the  dead  formula  here,  and  require  such  work  through 
thought-provoking  questions  and  remarks.  This  is 
one  of  the  points  where  a  high  degree  of  skill  is  pos- 
sible and  where  improvement  is  greatly  needed. 
The  plan  for  "  Excelsior  "  calls  for  a  large  amount  of 
review  and  for  summaries,  as  can  be  seen  by  examina- 
tion of  it.  But  the  authors  have  tried  to  avoid  "  going 
out  of  their  way  "  for  such  things.  A  large  amount 
of  review  is  really  necessary  in  the  proper  advance 
of  the  thought  itself,  and  this  plan  is  an  attempt  to 
illustrate  that  fact. 

7.  The  amount  of  detail  necessary  for  a  plan  is 


338  METHOD    OF   RECITATION 

probably  reasonably  approximated  in  that  here  pre- 
sented. Although  very  minor  points  are  omitted,  no 
large  amount  of  writing  is  required.  The  subject- 
matter  in  this  case,  however,  is  contained  in  a  poem ; 
when  it  is  not  found  in  any  particular  text,  the  columns 
for  subject-matter  will  naturally  need  to  be  fuller. 

8.  The  teaching  of  "  Excelsior  "  would  probably  oc- 
cupy not  less  than  three  or  four  recitation  periods,  but 
the  plan  shows  no  subdivisions  with  reference  to/tfr/z.a/- 
lar  lessons.  In  our  opinion,  plans  in  gener&l  should 
be  made  out  for  a  whole  topic  rather  than  for  certain 
lessons. 

The  amount  of  ground  that  is  likely  to  be  covered 
in  any  one  period  may  be  omitted  from  consideration, 
or,  if  attention  is  given  to  it,  the  subdivision  can  best 
take  place  after  the  plan  for  the  entire  topic  has  other- 
wise been  completed.  The  reason  for  these  suggestions 
is  that  it  has  usually  been  found  to  be  a  serious 
interruption  to  one's  train  of  thought  to  be  compelled, 
when  preparing  a  plan,  to  give  attention  to  suitable 
(twenty  or  thirty  minute)  stopping-places.  It  is 
irrelevant  to  the  work  in  hand,  and  therefore  an 
obstacle  to  connected  thinking. 

After  a  topic  covering  a  number  of  lessons  has 
been  prepared  as  suggested,  shall  the  work  for  each 
day  be  written  out  in  more  detail  as  it  is  approached  ? 
This  certainly  is  desirable,  and  it  is  the  custom  in 
some  training  schools  for  teachers.  But  since  time 
and  strength  are  limited,  the  authors  are  on  the  whole 


LESSON    PLANS  339 

opposed  to  devoting  much  effort  to  these  daily  les- 
son plans.  Many  topics  of  instruction  can  receive 
little  preparation,  and  we  believe  it  is  a  better  use  of 
time  to  outline  a  greater  number  of  topics  very  care- 
fully as  wholes,  entering  thoroughly  into  their  spirit 
and  conceiving  clearly  the  main  points  of  method  in- 
volved in  their  presentation,  than  to  reduce  the 
number  of  such  topics  for  the  sake  of  greater  skill  in 
minor  points  of  method.  It  is  a  question  of  relative 
values.  Some  of  the  more  detailed  work  should,  how- 
ever, be  done  by  every  young  teacher ;  every  ex- 
perienced teacher  that  is  fully  alive  naturally  drops 
into  the  habit  of  adapting  her  work  each  day  to  her 
pupils  and  seizes  many  odd  moments  for  planning 
such  adaptation.  It  is  only  the  careful  writing  out  of 
the  particular  day's  lesson  that  seems  to  us  to  in- 
volve some  loss,  when  compared  with  the  gain 
brought  about  by  the  careful  consideration  of  large 
topics. 


METHODS  OF  ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION 

By  DR.  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 
COVERING  ALL  GRADES  OF  THE  COMMON  SCHOOL 


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TWO   NEW    BOOKS   ON   GEOGRAPHY 

BY  DR.  CHARLES  A.  MCMURRY 

EXCURSIONS   AND  LESSONS   IN  HOME   GEOGRAPHY 
TYPE  STUDIES  FROM  THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES.    Each  50  cents,  net. 

Two  new  books  for  the  use  of  both  teachers  and  pupils.  The  material 
provided  in  the  Excursions  and  Lessons  constitutes  the  introductory  lessons 
in  geography  for  third  and  fourth  grades.  It  is  the  geography  of  the  home 
and  the  neighborhood.  The  illustrations  are  taken  from  many  different 
localities,  and  are  typical  of  various  parts  of  the  country. 

Type  Studies  is  designed  to  illustrate  in  some  detail  the  second  stage  of 
geography  study,  following  the  Excursions  and  Lessons.  The  puipose  of  the 
simple  type  studies  given  is  to  introduce  children  to  the  geography  of  our 
own  country.  This  volume  also  is  appropriately  illustrated. 


A  History  of  Education  in  the 
United  States 

By  EDWIN  GRANT  DEXTER,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  Education  in  the  University  of  Illinois 

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This  new  work  has  been  prepared  in  the  belief  that  the  greatest  need  ot  the 
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educational  literature  is  rich  in  the  latter,  though  comparatively  barren  of  the 
former.  The  present  book  deals,  therefore,  with  the  fact  rather  than  with  the 
philosophy  of  education  in  the  United  States.  It  contains  an  exceptionally 
valuable  equipment  of  references  and  bibliographies. 


The  Philosophy  of  Education 

By  HERMAN  HARRELL  HORNE,  Ph.D. 

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This  volume  is  a  connected  series  of  discussions  on  the  foundations  of  edu- 
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thoroughgoing  interpretation  of  the  nature,  place,  and  meaning  of  education 
in  our  world.  The  newest  points  of  view  in  the  realms  of  natural  and  mental 
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ophy of  education,  in  distinction  from  its  history,  science,  and  art.  The  con- 
ceptions of  evolution,  society,  and  genetic  psychology  shed  their  light  upon 
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origin,  nature,  and  destiny  of  man. 


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HANUS'S  EDUCATIONAL  AIMS   AND  VALUES  .       i.oo 

HERBART'S  OUTLINES  OF  EDUCATIONAL  DOC- 
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HERRICK'S   THE  MEANING  AND  PRACTICE  OF 
COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION 


KING'S  PERSONAL  AND  IDEAL  ELEMENTS  IN 
EDUCATION  . 


KIRKPATRICK'S    FUNDAMENTALS     OF    CHILD 
STUDY  

MONROE'S    SOURCE    BOOK    OF    THE   HISTORY 
OF  EDUCATION 

OPPENHEIM'S    MENTAL    GROWTH    AND    CON- 
TROL  

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CHILD  . 
REDWAY'S  THE  NEW  BASIS    OF    GEOGRAPHY 

ROWERS    THE     PHYSICAL     NATURE     OF    THE 
CHILD 

ROYCE'S  OUTLINES  OF  PSYCHOLOGY. 
SHAW'S  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

SMITH'S  TEACHING  OF  ELEMENTARY  MATHE- 
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A    MODERN    SCHOOL 

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By  PAUL  H.  HANUS 

Professor  of  the  History  and  Art  of  Teaching  in  Harvard  University 
Author  of  "Educational  Aims  and  Educational  Values"  etc. 

The  chapters  of  which  this  volume  consists,  except  the  last,  deal 
with  various  phases  of  one  central  theme :  the  scope  and  aims  of  a 
modern  school,  and  the  conditions  essential  to  its  highest  efficiency. 
The  last  chapter  offers  some  testimony  on  the  working  of  the  elective 
system,  —  a  contemporary  question  of  great  importance  to  both  schools 
and  colleges,  —  but  the  testimony  offered  pertains  only  to  the  college. 
The  first  chapter  deals  specifically  with  the  secondary  school;  and  in 
it  the  author  has  endeavored  to  extend  and  strengthen  certain  concep- 
tions set  forth  in  his  earlier  book.  The  next  seven  chapters  contain  a 
fuller  treatment  of  certain  topics  than  was  appropriate  or  expedient  in 
the  first  chapter,  and  discuss  the  internal  and  external  conditions  essen- 
tial to  a  high  degree  of  success  in  the  work  of  any  school. 

PIONEER   HISTORY  STORIES 

PIONEERS  ON  LAND  AND  SEA  *)      4O 

PIONEERS  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  I  cents 

PIONEERS  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  AND  THE  WEST  J    each 

By  DR.  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 

This  series  provides  excellent  supplementary  reading  matter  for 
schools  of  from  the  fifth  to  the  eighth  grade.  In  these  volumes  is  told 
the  story  of  the  pioneer  life  of  all  sections  of  our  country,  from  the 
epoch-making  voyages  of  Columbus  to  Major  Powell's  marvellous  jour- 
ney through  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado.  The  stories  are  com- 
plete and  interesting,  making  the  experiences  of  pioneer  life  as  graphic 
and  real  as  possible.  Indeed,  the  text  is  made  up  largely  of  source 
materials.  These  narratives,  which  are  accompanied  by  admirable 
maps  and  illustrations,  constitute  the  best  of  all  introductions  for  chil- 
dren to  the  history  and  geography  of  the  country. 


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